
President Joe Biden’s nominee to the US Supreme Court won key backing from two Senate Republicans Monday night, effectively guaranteeing her confirmation by the upper chamber of Congress.
Utah Senator and 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski announced Monday night that they plan to vote to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination to the Supreme Court.
Romney and Murkowski join Maine Senator Susan Collins, who vowed last week to vote to confirm Jackson, giving Biden’s nominee three guaranteed Republican votes in the Senate.
With the upper chamber divided evenly between Republicans and Democrats, the support of three Republican senators in what is otherwise expected to be a largely party-line vote, likely ensures Jackson’s confirmation.
The full Senate voted 53 to 47 to move forward with the confirmation process, and paving the way for a confirmation vote.
Democrats hope to hold the confirmation vote sometime this week.