Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed in a historic vote with 53 votes in favor and 47 against in the US Senate, a result that received a standing ovation from most members of the upper house of the US Congress.

Ahead of Ketanji Brown Jackson’s final confirmation vote, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer praised the historic nature of the vote and the impact it will have on the country.

“This is a wonderful day, a joyful day, and an inspiring day, for the Senate, the Supreme Court and the United States of America. Today we are here to vote to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as the 116th Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States,” Schumer said before the votes were counted.

Several legal experts have praised the judge’s career, with a group of high-profile lawyers saying she has an “excellent” reputation, “exceptional” competence, and is well qualified to sit on the US Supreme Court.

Jackson was nominated by US President Joe Biden, who promised during the 2020 election campaign that if he won he would nominate an African-American woman to the Supreme Court, which has never had one in its 232-year history.

Despite the confirmation, Ketanji Brown Jackson will only take office when Judge Stephen Breyer retires, which should take place between June and July this year.

The Supreme Court, the highest court in the United States and the third branch of power in the United States, is called upon to decide on very ideologically sensitive dossiers, such as abortion, the death penalty, same-sex marriage or the possession of firearms.