WASHINGTON – The US president Joe Biden is reportedly eyeing three judges for a possible vacancy on the biggest justice court in the US as he plans to fulfill his pledge to appoint the first Black woman on the Supreme Court’s judge position, allies reported.
“BREAKING: Justice Stephen Breyer to retire from Supreme Court at end of current term”, MSNBC Tweeted.
The president and Justice Stephen Breyer are likely to organize a formal event at the White House on coming Thursday to announce Breyer’s retirement, reported the person briefed on the event who was not allowed to disclose it beforehand.
Early discussions about the succession include U.S. District Judge J. Michelle Childs, California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger, and U.S. Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, as possible nominees to fill the position on the Supreme Court, reported four people who disclosed the matter on condition to protect their identities to discuss the White House plans.
“Justice Stephen Breyer will retire from the Supreme Court, Sen. Schumer said. President Biden has pledged to appoint a Black woman to fill the post”, The Wall Street Journal Tweeted.
Meanwhile, people anticipate Kruger and Jackson as possible nominees.
Since the day Joe Biden got elected in 2021, he has been strongly focusing on appointing a diverse group of jurists on the biggest justice court in the US, installing 5 Black female judges on federal courts, with 3 more requests pending for the Senate to approve.
“Other possible candidates for the high court could come from among that group”, Biden’s aides and allies told. “Especially since almost all of the recent Supreme Court nominees have been federal appeals judges.”
The NAACP’s president, Derrick Johnson, said, “He has a strong pool to select a candidate from, in addition to other sources. This is an historic opportunity to appoint someone with a strong record on civil and human rights,”
With the end of 2021, also Biden’s first year of presidency, he had received confirmation from 40 judges, making the highest since Ronald Reagan. Out of them, 80% are female, while 53% are nonwhite, as per the White House statement.
President Barack Obama nominated Jackson, 51, as a district court judge. Later, Biden promoted her to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Back in her early stages, she has served for Breyer as a law clerk.
Childs, who is serving in South Carolina as a federal judge, has been nominated though, it is yet to confirm whether she will be on the same circuit.
While Kruger, being a Harvard and Yale’s law school graduate, served as a clerk at Supreme Court. Moreover, she has fought several cases as a federal government lawyer. Stephen Breyer, 83, plans to retire by the end of the summer, revealed insiders on Wednesday to The Associated Press.
