Cory Booker: Senate on 'precipice of shattering another ceiling' with Jackson SCOTUS hearings

Confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson are off to a rip-roaring start, having begun with opening remarks from members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
After some focus on the "spectacle" of the hearings for Justice Brett Kavanaugh and what Republicans expect will be criticism of their questioning this time around, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) opted to take a lighthearted and celebratory approach toward the milestone moment Jackson represents.
"This is not a normal day for America," Booker said. "We have never had this moment before. And I just want to talk about the joy. I know tomorrow and in the coming hearings we're going to have tough, hard questions but please, let me just acknowledge the fact that this is not normal." If confirmed, Jackson will be the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"It's never happened before," Booker continued. "We are on the precipice of shattering another ceiling. ... I just feel this sense of overwhelming joy as I see you sitting there."
Booker also told the story of how Jackson's daughter Leila once wrote former President Barack Obama asking him to nominate her mother to the Supreme Court.
With any luck, the senator continued, Leila's letter would inspire generations of children, "no matter who their parents are," to write to the White House.
"We're gonna see a new generation of children talking about their mamas," he said, "and daring to write to the president of the United States of America that 'my mom should be on the Supreme Court.'"
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
"I want to tell your daughter right now that that dream of hers is so close to being a reality."
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
Alchemised: how Harry Potter fanfic went mainstream
In The Spotlight Traditional publishers are signing up fan fiction authors to rewrite their ‘explosively popular’ romances for the mass market
-
Crossword: October 6, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
-
Codeword: October 6, 2025
The Week's daily codeword puzzle
-
US tipped to help Kyiv strike Russian energy sites
Speed Read Trump has approved providing Ukraine with intelligence for missile strikes on Russian energy infrastructure
-
Netanyahu agrees to Trump’s new Gaza peace plan
Speed Read At President Trump's meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, they agreed upon a plan to end Israel’s war in Gaza
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of Taiwan
In the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Moldova gives decisive win to pro-EU party
Speed Read The country is now on track to join the European Union within five years
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdown
IN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
UK, 3 Western allies recognize Palestinian state
Speed Read Britain, Canada, Australia and Portugal formally recognized the state of Palestine
-
Russia slams Kyiv, hits government building
Speed Read This was Moscow's largest aerial assault since launching its full-scale invasion in 2022
-
China's Xi hosts Modi, Putin, Kim in challenge to US
Speed Read Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Asian leaders at an SCO summit