WASHINGTON, D.C. (WFLA) — As Justice Kentanji Brown Jackson ascends to the nation’s highest court, the advisor who guided her through the confirmation process says the vote is inspiring to him.
“It’s hard for me to describe,” said Former Senator Doug Jones of Alabama, who served as the White House’s Nominations Advisor on Legislative Affairs.
“The emotion that you felt from the floor was just overwhelming,” he added.
Jones spent his career as a prosecutor. Most notably, he convicted the Klansman who bombed an African-American church in Birmingham, Alabama, in the 1960s killing 4 young Black girls.
“I think about those 4 little girls who died. That could’ve been one of them had they not died because of the color of their skin. It’s taken a long time. Far too long for a Black woman to be nominated and confirmed to the United States Supreme Court,” Jones added.
Justice Jackson has ties to Florida. She went to high school in South Florida, where her father worked as a lawyer for the Miami-Dade County School District. She followed her father into law, attending Harvard University.
“I think today’s vote shows there is still hope in America. We are still the greatest country. There are things out there that people can do as long as they, in the words of Judge Jackson, persevere.”
Jones will remain in his current role as the so-called “Senate Sherpa” for a few more days.
