President Joe Biden announced he will nominate Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, making her the first Black female Supreme Court nominee.

       Mr Biden made the announcement on Friday morning after media reports said he would make the nomination by the end of the week.

       “Judge Jackson is an exceptionally qualified nominee as well as an historic nominee, and the Senate should move forward with a fair and timely hearing and confirmation,” he said.

       Ms Jackson was one of the three potential nominees, along with Judge J Michelle Childs, a US district court judge for District of South Carolina, and Leondra Kruger, an associate justice on California’s supreme court.

       The nomination comes after Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer announced he would step down from the court at the end of last month. Mr Biden had pledged he would announce a nominee by the end of February.

       The announcement comes ahead of Mr Biden’s first State of the Union address and as the Senate reconvenes after a brief recess. Mr Biden had pledged on the campaign trail to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court, as a Black woman had never served on the bench.

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       Ms Jackson serves as a judge on the prestigious Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, replacing Attorney General Merrick Garland. The court is often seen as an on-ramp to the Supreme Court, with Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Antonin Scalia both serving on the court before their nominations.

       The Senate voted to confirm her to the court in June with three Republicans – Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine – voting alongside every Democrat. Prior to that, she served as a judge on United States District Court for the District of Columbia from 2013 to 2021.

       But Mr Graham, who had praised Ms Childs, chided Mr Biden’s nomination of Ms Jackson, saying his former friend caved to progressive pressure.

       “The attacks by the Left on Judge Childs from South Carolina apparently worked,” he said. “I expect a respectful but interesting hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Harvard-Yale train to the Supreme Court continues to run unabated.”

       House Majority Whip James Clyburn, who endorsed Mr Biden after he pledged to nominate a Black woman to the court, also lobbied for Ms Childs.

       But Rep Joyce Beatty, the chairwoman the Congressional Black Caucus praised the announcement, and noted her history of bipartisan support.

       “Judge Jackson has spent years representing the most vulnerable members of our society and fighting for the constitutional rights of all,” she said in a statement. “What’s more, she has a record of bipartisan support for her previous confirmations. In fact, she was confirmed three times by the Senate, twice unanimously.”

       The White House also named former Sen Doug Jones of Alabama, who lost his race in 2020 to Sen Tommy Tuberville, to shepherd the nomination through the Senate.

       Ms Jackson previously clerked for Mr Breyer from 1999 to 2000 and if confirmed, would be the only former public defender who served on the court, having served as one Assistant Federal Defender in Washington, DC from 2005 to 2007.

       Ms Jackson’s potential confirmation would not change the ideological makeup of the court, as Mr Breyer was the court’s leading liberal. Former President Donald Trump nominated three justices: Associate Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.

       Ms Barrett’s confirmation after the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg tilted the court in favour of conservatives, giving them six justices, along with Associate Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, as well as Chief Justice John Roberts.

       Mr Biden’s nomination comes a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin began his attack on Ukraine after amassing troops on its border.

       Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer pledged a swift confirmation process under Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, but Democrats would need all 50 Democrats on board to confirm Ms Jackson, with Vice President Kamala Harris serving as the tiebreaker if no Republican votes to confirm Ms Jackson.

       “Once the President sends Judge Jackson’s nomination to the Senate, Senate Democrats will work to ensure a fair, timely, and expeditious process – fair to the nominee, to the Senate, and to the American public,” he said in a statement.

       Civil rights organizations praised the nomination. The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights praised the decision to nominate a former public defender.

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       “His nomination today will move us one step closer to a Court that reflects the diversity of America and is committed to protecting the rights of all,” it tweeted.