Ketanji Brown Jackson sworn in; SCOTUS hands down decisions on climate, immigration

Thursday, United States Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer stepped down from the bench and Ketanji Brown Jackson was sworn in to serve as the country’s first Black female justice.

Breyer, who is 83 and has served since 1994, announced his intent to retire in January.

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Jackson was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in April by a vote of 53-47.

The ceremony came hours after the high court handed down more decisions.

The final rulings were regarding climate and immigration cases.

RELATED: Jackson approved as first Black female Supreme Court justice

In a 6-3 vote Thursday, with conservatives in the majority, the court said that the Clean Air Act does not give the Environmental Protection Agency broad authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants that contribute to global warming. Instead, the EPA is limited to plant-by-plant regulation, which could complicate the Biden administration’s plans to combat climate change.

They also decided that the Biden administration properly ended a Trump-era policy forcing some U.S. asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico. The justices’ 5-4 decision for the administration came in a case about the “Remain in Mexico” policy under President Donald Trump.

Once the court’s term ends Thursday, the major cases justices plan to take up when they return later this fall will also be released.

ABC News aired a Special Report for the rulings around 9:15 a.m. That video can be found below.

ABC will also air a Special Report for the swearing-in ceremony at 11 a.m. You can watch the reports on KSTP-TV, as well as in the video player above. If you’re watching in the news app, CLICK HERE to launch the player on the mobile website.