WATCH: Sen. Durbin’s opening statement in Jackson Supreme Court confirmation hearings

Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin, D-Ill., kicked off a week of confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Joe Biden’s nominee for the Supreme Court.

Watch Durbin’s statement in the player above. 

Durbin called her “independent-minded” and noted the historic nature of her nomination as both the first Black woman and the first since former justice Thurgood Marshall with “considerable criminal defense experience,” nodding to her work as a public defender.

“I am fully confident you’ll serve Americans from all walks of life, all backgrounds, fairly and faithfully,” Durbin said.

Jackson was nominated by Biden in February to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. If confirmed, she will be the first Black woman on the high court.

More coverage from Jackson’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings:

• WATCH: Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson Supreme Court confirmation hearings — Day 1
• WATCH: Sen. Grassley’s opening statement in Jackson Supreme Court confirmation hearings
• Few public defenders become federal judges. Ketanji Brown Jackson would be the Supreme Court’s first