Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s daughter once asked Obama to put her mom on the high court
Written by ABC Audio All Rights Reserved on March 3, 2022
(WASHINGTON) — Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s daughter once penned a letter to then-President Barack Obama requesting he nominate her mom for a seat on the Supreme Court.
Leila, who was an 11-year-old middle schooler in 2016, wrote the missive touting the credentials of her mother following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Jackson was serving on the U.S. District Court of Washington, D.C. at the time.
“I would like to add my mother, Ketanji Brown Jackson of the District Court, to the list,” Leila wrote, referring to Obama’s shortlist of potential nominees.
“She is determined, honest, and never breaks a promise to anyone, even if there are other things she’d rather do,” the letter reads. “She can demonstrate commitment, and is loyal and never brags.”
Jackson read the entire letter aloud in a 2017 speech and tells the story around it and how she first explained to her daughter the process of becoming a justice.
Obama ended up selecting Merrick Garland to fill the opening, but Senate Republicans fused to hold hearings on the now-attorney general, leaving the seat to be filled by President Donald Trump, who nominated Justice Neil Gorsuch.
It took another six years for President Joe Biden, who served as Obama’s vice president when Leila sent her letter, to come to the same conclusion that Brown “would make a great Supreme Court Justice, even if the workload will be larger….”
In February, Biden tapped to Brown replace Justice Stephen Breyer, who announced his retirement earlier this year.
It is the first time a Black woman has been nominated to the Supreme Court.
ABC News’ Devin Dwyer contributed to this report.
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