President Joe Biden is expected to nominate Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, setting her up to become the first Black woman to serve on the nation’s highest court. The 51-year-old currently serves on Washington D.C.'s federal appellate court, CNN reports.

Jackson, who clerked for Justice Stephen Breyer and served as a federal public defender in Washington, received a call from Biden on Thursday and accepted his offer. She had been considered the front-runner for the Supreme Court vacancy since Breyer announced his retirement. 

The judge will now wait for the Senate to confirm the nomination. Democrats currently control the Senate because of Vice President Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote, Bloomberg reports. 

In 2021, Jackson won confirmation to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit with support from three Republicans. When she was confirmed for the U.S. Court of Appeals, Jackson was asked to explain what role race played in her time as a judge.

“I don’t think that race plays a role in the kind of judge that I have been and would be. I’m doing a certain thing when I get my cases,” she said, according to Yahoo. “I’m looking at the arguments, the facts and the law. I’m methodically and intentionally setting aside personal views, any other inappropriate considerations, and I would think that race would be the kind of thing that would be inappropriate to inject into my evaluation of a case.”

As Blavity previously reported, Biden had promised to appoint a Black woman to the seat vacated by Breyer. 

"The person I nominate to replace Justice Breyer will be someone with extraordinary qualifications. Character, experience, and integrity," the president wrote on Twitter. "And they will be the first Black woman nominated to the United States Supreme Court."

The president also said he wants to have a "historic candidate" who is "worthy of Justice Breyer's legacy."

"It's long overdue in my view," he added. "I made that commitment during the campaign for president, and I will keep that commitment."