Ketanji Brown Jackson was sworn in to the Supreme Court on Thursday by Justice Stephen Breyer, who is retiring from the bench.
Following her confirmation earlier this year, Brown took her position and recited the Judicial Oath to Jackson as he officially retired from the bench.
Jackson becomes the first black woman to serve as a Supreme Court justice with the ceremony on Thursday.
After the new justices had taken the oath and shook Breyer’s hand, conservative Chief Justice John Roberts said, “On behalf of all of the members of the Court I am pleased to welcome Justice Jackson to the Court and to our common calling.”
With the recent 6-3 conservative majority following the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, several contentious decisions were made during Breyer’s final term before turning his seat over to Jackson.
Roe v. Wade, a landmark abortion case that removed federal protections for a woman’s right to end her pregnancy, was overturned during the consequential term, returning control of the matter to the states.
Jackson was put forward by President Joe Biden after Breyer announced his retirement in January 2022.
The justices convened on Thursday for the swearing-in ceremony after their final two opinions of the term were published on Thursday, one of which supported Biden’s decision to end the Migrant Protection Protocols of the Trump administration (MPP).
The other viewpoint was rejected by a vote of 6 to 3, which limits the federal government’s ability to control emissions from power plants.
According to the ruling, it is forbidden for federal agencies to make “major” decisions without express consent from Congress.
Roberts stated in his opinion for the court that capping carbon dioxide emissions at a level that will compel a national shift away from the use of coal to generate electricity “may be a sensible “solution to the crisis of the day.”
Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Stephen Breyer, who are liberals on the court, dissented.