Everything to Know About Dr. Patrick Jackson, Ketanji Brown Jackson's Husband

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson's husband is joining the supportive spouse club in Washington, D.C. During his wife's confirmation hearings in March 2022, Dr. Patrick Jackson could be spotted sitting behind his wife, crying tears of joy.

During her opening remarks, she said, "Speaking of unconditional love, I'd like to introduce you to my husband of 25 years, Dr. Patrick Jackson. I have no doubt that without him by my side from the very beginning of this incredible professional journey, none of this would have been possible."

She continued, "We met in college more than three decades ago, and since then, he's been the best husband, father, and friend I could ever imagine. Patrick, I love you."

Chasten Buttigieg, husband of Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, caught this sweet moment and tweeted, "We love a supportive spouse! Welcome to the club, Dr. Jackson."

With Ketanji's investiture ceremony on the Supreme Court Justice today, here's everything you need to know about Ketanji Brown Jackson's longtime husband, Dr. Jackson.

The couple met when they were both attending Harvard.

As an undergraduates at Harvard, Ketanji and Patrick started dating.

In a 2017 lecture, Ketanji called Patrick a quintessential "Boston Brahmin," and discussed their extremely different backgrounds: "He and his twin brother are, in fact, the sixth generation in their family to graduate from Harvard College. By contrast, I am only the second generation in my family to go to any college, and I am fairly certain that if you traced my family lineage back past my grandparents—who were raised in Georgia, by the way—you would find that my ancestors were slaves on both sides."

Yet, she said, they have similar habits: "Patrick and I are in fact those long-suffering early to bed, early to rise kind of people."

They married in 1996.

After Ketanji finished law school at Harvard, and Patrick graduated from Columbia University’s medical school, the college sweethearts married. They now have two daughters: Talia, 21, and Leila, 17.

After long nights on call at the hospital, he would often go to the courtroom to watch his wife work. Per NPR, "Federal Judge Patti Saris, who hired Jackson as a law clerk straight out of law school, recalls her husband, who now looks full-on prep, as less so back then. At the time, he was a surgical resident at Massachusetts General Hospital, but he was so fascinated by his wife's work he would often go to the courtroom after a long night on call to watch what was going on. As Saris remembers, the young doctor had often been up for 24-plus hours and looked incredibly scruffy, sitting in the back of the courtroom. Finally, one day, the judge's courtroom marshal came up to her and whispered, 'Judge, would you like me to remove the homeless man in the back row?'"

Dr. Patrick Jackson is now a gastrointestinal surgeon.

Jackson is currently a general surgeon at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. He's also a professor at Georgetown.

He's related to Paul Ryan through marriage.

Patrick’s brother William is married to Dana Little Jackson, Janna Ryan’s sister. Janna Ryan is the wife of politician Paul Ryan. After news of Ketanji's nomination, Ryan tweeted his congratulations:

Ryan served as a character witness for Ketanji when she was appointed as a district court judge in 2012.

Patrick is his wife Ketanji's biggest fan.

Throughout her confirmation hearings, swearing-in, and investiture ceremony, Dr. Jackson was right by his wife's side. Following the investiture ceremony, he gave her a big hug and a kiss in front of the Supreme Court:

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