Democrats weigh in on potential justices
Senate Judiciary Committee members, Black congresswomen prod Biden on his pick for Supreme Court.
WASHINGTON — President Biden told a group of Senate Democrats on Thursday that he would meet with potential Supreme Court nominees “soon.”
“We’re anxious to get started,” Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin (DIll.), the Judiciary Committee chairman, told reporters after members of the panel met privately with Biden.
Members left the meeting with the impression that Biden’s pick could win bipartisan support in the Senate, where Supreme Court battles have become bitterly partisan in recent years.
They also commended the president for following through on his commitment to nominate a Black woman to the high court, and said that everyone under consideration is abundantly qualified.
The senators said Biden sought their input on specific candidates and told them what qualities he was looking for in a nominee.
“We just had a great conversation … with our president about the factors he’s going to be weighing,” Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) said. “One of them that we discussed was someone in the model of [retiring] Justice [Stephen G.] Breyer: someone who will write stirring, compelling, lasting arguments — hopefully in the majority at some point, but probably in the coming few years in the dissent. But someone who is persuasive.”
Biden told NBC’s Lester Holt in an interview taped earlier Thursday that he wanted to nominate a jurist “with the same kind of capacity Judge Breyer has, with an open mind, who understands the Constitution — interprets it in a way that is consistent with the mainstream interpretation of the Constitution.”
The president also said he didn’t intend to make an ideological decision, and that there had been a “deep dive” on four potential nominees.
Those on “the shortlist are nominees who are incredibly well-qualified and documented,” Biden told Holt. “They were the honor students. They have come from the best universities. They have experience — some on the bench, some on the practice of law.”
Ahead of the president’s meeting with Senate Democrats, a group of 14 Black female lawmakers outlined the type of jurist they want to see elevated.
“The nomination of a Black woman is not mere symbolism; it is an essential step for our country’s promise of justice for all,” they said in a letter to Biden.
“It is therefore of utmost importance that the administration appoints a Black woman with a strong track record of advancing civil and constitutionally protected rights, and whose work has shown dedication to affirming the rights of our country’s most marginalized communities,” the letter states.
Rep. Barbara Lee (DOakland) was among the 13 congresswomen and one delegate who signed the letter, led by Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.).
All but seven Supreme Court justices in U.S. history have been white men, the women noted, adding that it’s no coincidence the court’s precedents have largely reflected that perspective.
“We write to you as a collective of 14 Black women lawmakers serving in the United States House of Representatives, but write on behalf of the over 21 million Black women in America,” they said.
“There is not a single Black woman in the United States Senate to vote to confirm the first Black woman nominated to the Supreme Court,” the letter reads. “For this reason, we write as a collective to commend you for this historic announcement, and ask that the nominee reflect a deep and abiding commitment to adjudicate with moral and legal clarity.”
Biden has said he plans to announce his choice to succeed Breyer by the end of February, which is Black History Month. Durbin said the president didn’t give more specific timing in his meeting with Senate judiciary Democrats.
Both of California’s senators, Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla, serve on the panel, which will vet the nominee at a public hearing and vote in committee before the nominee can advance to the Senate floor for a full vote. Feinstein wasn’t present at Thursday’s meeting.
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger and Judge J. Michelle Childs of the U.S. District Court for South Carolina are among the top names being considered.
The Senate confirmed Jackson to the circuit court last summer with the support of all Democrats and three Republicans.
House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.), whose timely endorsement in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary revived Biden’s campaign, has publicly pushed for Childs, who has also received vocal support from both of South Carolina’s Republican senators, Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott. But she has faced criticism from progressives who argue that she’s anti-labor.
In a roundtable with a group of Black reporters Tuesday, Bush said lawmakers shouldn’t pit Black women against one another as Biden considers a nominee. Asked specifically about Childs, Bush said she didn’t know her background well. But in earlier comments, the Missouri Democrat said she wanted to see a nominee who is strong on criminal legal reform and worker protections.
“I don’t have a name. I want the person that has those qualifications to rise to the top,” she said. “I just don’t think it’s our place to pit Black women against each other trying to get this spot. No, let’s push all of them up there.”