Biden Set To Nominate First Black Woman To The Supreme Court [Video]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer announced Wednesday that he is retiring.
• President Joe Biden has promised to nominate a black woman to the Supreme Court.
• U.S. appeals court judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is a leading candidate to replace Breyer.

As Justice Stephen Breyer is set to retire at the end of the current term, President Joe Biden will get to appoint his replacement.

Biden promised on the campaign trail to nominate the first black woman to the Supreme Court.

Among his potential pick are Ketanji Brown Jackson, a U.S. appeals court judge in Washington, D.C.; Leondra Kruger, a justice on California’s Supreme Court; Michelle Childs, a U.S. district court judge in South Carolina; Leslie Abrams Gardner, a U.S. district judge in Georgia; civil rights attorney Sherrilyn Ifill; and even Vice President Kamala Harris.

The likely replacement is Jackson, who’s been a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit since June. She’d been a judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia since 2013. She is also a former public defender and previously worked for Breyer.

The D.C. Circuit has been a launchpad for a number of Supreme Court justices. John Roberts, Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh all previously served on the D.C. Circuit, as did the late Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Antonin Scalia.

The Senate confirmed Jackson to her current post in a 53-44 vote, with three Republicans voting with Democrats: Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Lindsey Graham (S.C.) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska). When the Senate confirmed Jackson to her previous seat on the U.S. district court in 2013, it was by a unanimous vote.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said it’s way past time to put a Black woman onto the court.

“It is unacceptable that we have never in our nation’s history had a Black woman sit on the Supreme Court of the United States — I want to change that,” she said in a statement. “Black women in America should be able to look at the highest court in the land and finally see themselves represented.”

For months, progressive judicial advocacy groups have been pressuring Breyer, 83, to step down to ensure that Biden can replace him on the court with a Democrat-backed judge. Former President Bill Clinton nominated Breyer in 1994.

Source: HuffPost