Highlights from Senate vote to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson

Senate Judiciary Committee members continued opening statements in the afternoon ahead of an opening statement from Jackson herself.

Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., echoed Democrats who have touted the historic nature of Biden’s appointment, saying, "Even before your first opinion or dissent, your appearance before us today already begins a new chapter in our nation's history."

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said he hopes the hearings will focus on the Supreme Court's legitimacy and the appropriate balance of government. He also offered compliments to the Biden White House for selecting former Alabama Sen. Doug Jones to serve as Jackson's sherpa, and Jones appeared to respond with a soft smile.

"Senator Jones knows the Senate and the Senate knows Senator Jones," Kennedy said.

Offering the most praise for Jackson on the Republican side thus far, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., spoke to her qualifications and character and said he's currently reading Jackson's Harvard University thesis. He expects to finish it by Tuesday’s questioning.

After Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., launched into a series of attacks on the Biden administration, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J. -- one of only three African American senators in the chamber and the only African American on the Judiciary Committee -- took a more optimistic tone in his opening statement, calling the day "joyful."

"Forgive me, I grew up in a small Black church where I was taught to make a joyous noise under the Lord," Booker said through a grin. "This is not a normal day for America. We have never had this moment before. I just want to talk about the joy."

"Today is a day of joy. Today is a day of joy. Today we should rejoice. President Biden nominated someone we have heard who is extraordinarily talented, who also happens to be a Black woman," he said, in an apparent swipe at critics.

Booker acknowledged that Tuesday and Wednesday’s marathon questioning from senators will be "tough" but said the American people should not overlook the history-making moment before them.

"The Senate is poised right now to break another barrier. We are on the precipice of shattering another ceiling, another glass ceiling," he said. "We are continuing to rise to our collective idea. I just feel the sense of overwhelming joy as I see you sitting there, as I see your family sitting behind you."

He also recalled how Jackson’s daughter, Leila, present in the hearing room, wrote a letter to then-President Barack Obama asking for him to put her mother on the Supreme Court. Now, with Democrats holding a razor-thin majority in the Senate, she's headed for confirmation.

"Generations of little young girls and generations of young boys -- no matter who their parents are -- will have the audacity to write the president of the United States, whether they are daughters of white parents, Black parents, biracial parents, Muslim and Jewish parents, we are going to see a new generation of children talking about their mamas," Booker said. "And daring to write to the president of the United States of America."

"I want to tell your daughter right now, that dream of hers is so close to being a reality," he added. "It is a tough day ahead but I think it could happen."

-ABC News' Trish Turner

After a 30-minute break, the Senate Judiciary Committee reconvened for confirmation hearings for Biden’s first nominee to the Supreme Court.

Seven more senators will deliver opening statements before the public hears from two introducers and then Jackson herself.

Democrats have continued to highlight the significance of the moment as Monday marks the first time the Senate has considered a Black woman for the nation’s highest court. They have also used their time to defend Biden’s nominee against GOP attacks that she’s "soft on crime," touting her ties to law enforcement and her endorsement from the fraternal order of police.

Several Republicans, meanwhile, have raised past grievances regarding Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings, suggesting their nominee wasn’t treated fairly in 2018.

"We won’t try to turn this into a spectacle based on alleged process fouls," said Ranking Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa. "On that front, we’re off to a good start."

In a sign the hearings could get contentious, Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri -- a former Supreme Court clerk for Chief Justice John Roberts and a potential presidential hopeful -- before the break launched straight into his concerns about Jackson’s sentencing record when it comes to child porn offenders.

While court records show Jackson did impose lighter sentences than federal guidelines suggested, Hawley's insinuation neglects critical context, including the fact that the senator himself has voted to confirm at least three federal judges who also engaged in the same practice, reports ABC News' Devin Dwyer.

Noting that the judge hasn't had a chance to answer questions and saying he isn't trying to "trap" her, Hawley referenced seven child pornography cases in which Jackson “handed down a lenient sentence that was below what the federal guidelines recommended and below what prosecutors requested.”

He added that some argue federal sentencing guidelines are too harsh on child sex crimes, but Hawley made his disagreement clear.

"Judge Jackson has not had a chance yet to respond to this, and others have heard arguments, I don't agree with them, but I think it is important to hear from Judge Jackson, and we will have the chance to in the coming days," he said.

-ABC News' Trish Turner