President Biden stands by commitment to nominate Black woman to the Supreme Court, White House says
The White House signaled Wednesday that President Joe Biden remains committed to nominating the first Black woman to the Supreme Court after a well-placed source familiar with the matter said that Justice Stephen Breyer plans to retire.
"The President has stated and reiterated his commitment to nominating a Black woman to the Supreme Court and certainly stands by that," White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters during the White House press briefing.
Psaki had no additional details or statement about the news of Breyer's retirement.
Earlier Wednesday, the President similarly declined to weigh in on the news of Breyer's retirement from the court.
"Every justice has the right to decide what he or she is going to do, and announce that on their own," Biden said. "There's been no announcement from Justice Breyer. Let him make whatever statement he is going to make, and I'll be happy to talk about it later."
Breyer will be leaving the high court after two decades on the bench, and Biden's pick to replace him is expected be a younger, fellow liberal who could serve on the court for decades. It'll be the President's first chance to nominate someone to the high court.
Breyer informed Biden of his decision to retire last week.
Biden had said throughout his 2020 presidential campaign that he was committed to nominating a Black woman to the Supreme Court if elected.
"I (have) committed that, if I'm elected as president and have the opportunity to appoint someone to the courts, I'll appoint the first Black woman to the court. It's required that they have representation now — it's long overdue," Biden said in March 2020.
A short list of potential nominees had been circulating Washington well before Breyer's retirement plans became public, and officials in the White House Counsel's Office built files on various candidates in anticipation of a potential vacancy.
Names on the list include: DC Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger, South Carolina US District Judge J. Michelle Childs, North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Justice Anita Earls, Minnesota US District Judge Wilhelmina "Mimi" Wright, Circuit Judge Eunice Lee, Circuit Judge Candace Jackson-Akiwumi and Sherrilyn Ifill, a civil rights attorney who recently announced plans to step down from her role as president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
On Wednesday, Psaki declined to comment on rumors that Vice President Kamala Harris could be considered for a Supreme Court vacancy. However, she reiterated that the President has every intention on "running for reelection with Vice President Harris on the ticket as his partner."
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