With the House in recess and the chamber’s Republican lawmakers at their annual policy retreat, all eyes were on the Senate Judiciary Committee this week. The panel held a series of hearings to consider the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to succeed Justice Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court. Jackson, who President Biden nominated for the post on February 25, currently sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. She has also served as a district court judge, worked as a public defender, and spent time on the U.S. Sentencing Commission.

For their part, Judiciary Committee Democrats highlighted Jackson’s background and credentials during the four-day committee session. GOP lawmakers, on the other hand, criticized Jackson for her rulings in previous cases and inquired about her legal philosophy on controversial issues that could come before the Supreme Court. Jackson also faced a number of contentious questions about her past rulings, with several Republicans accusing her of being too lenient as a judge in sentencing defendants.

Despite GOP opposition to her nomination, Jackson’s confirmation will continue to move forward. In fact, Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL) has indicated that the panel will vote on Jackson’s nomination on April 4. Democratic leaders are also hopeful that the full chamber will confirm Jackson by April 9, ahead of a two-week Easter break. It should be noted that Democrats have the votes in the evenly divided Senate to confirm Jackson without Republican support. If necessary, Vice President Kamala Harris would provide the tie-breaking vote.

If ultimately confirmed, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson would become the first Black woman to serve on the nation’s highest Court. She would also be the first justice to have been a public defender and the second to have served on the U.S. Sentencing Commission.

In other developments, the full Senate approved a slate of judicial nominees this week, including Ruth Bermudez Montenegro to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. The chamber also voted to move forward with legislation (H.R. 4521) aimed at increasing U.S. economic competitiveness with China and other global powers. Among other things, the measure would boost domestic innovation initiatives and invest heavily in semiconductor manufacturing. During consideration, the Senate replaced the House bill text with its own proposal (S. 1260). Congressional leaders in both chambers will now form a conference committee to reconcile the differences between the two bills.