At least 3 judges eyed as Joe Biden prepares to nominate first Black woman in Supreme Court

President Joe Biden is eyeing at least three judges for an expected vacancy on the Supreme Court as he prepares to quickly deliver on his campaign pledge to nominate the first Black woman to the nations highest court according to aides and alliesWith Justice Stephen Breyer planning to retire early discussions about a successor are focussing on US Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson US District Judge J Michelle Childs and California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger according to four people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss White House deliberations Jackson and Kruger have long been seen as possible nomineesSince Biden took office in January 2021 he has focused on nominating a diverse group of judges to the federal bench installing five Black women on federal appeals courts with three more nominations pending before the Senate Other possible candidates for the high court could come from among that group Biden aides and allies said especially since almost all of the recent Supreme Court nominees have been federal appeals judgesHe 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 said Derrick Johnson the NAACPs presidentBy the end of his first year Biden had won confirmation of 40 judges the most since President Ronald Reagan Of those 8037 are women and 5337 are people of color according to the White HouseJackson 51 was nominated by President Barack Obama to be a district court judge Biden elevated her to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit Early in her career she was also a law clerk for BreyerChilds a federal judge in South Carolina has been nominated but not yet confirmed to serve on the same circuit court Her name has surfaced partly because is a favorite among some highprofile lawmakers including Rep James Clyburn DSCKruger a graduate of Harvard and Yales law school was previously a Supreme Court clerk and has argued a dozen cases before the justices as a lawyer for the federal governmentBreyer 83 will retire at the end of the summer according to two sources who confirmed the news to The Associated Press on Wednesday They spoke on condition of anonymity so as not to preempt Breyers formal announcementBut the Senate can confirm a successor before there is a formal vacancy so the White House was getting to work and it was expected to take at least a few weeks before a nomination was formalizedBiden said Wednesday he wasnt going to get ahead of Breyers announcementldquoEvery justice should have an opportunity to decide what he or she is going to do and announce it on their own Biden said Let him make whatever statement hes going to make and Ill be happy to talk about it laterrdquoWhen Biden was running for the White House he said that if he had the chance to nominate someone to the court he would make history by choosing a Black woman And hes reiterated that pledge sinceldquoAs president Id be honored honored to appoint the first African American woman Because it should look like the country Its long past timerdquo Biden said in February 2020 shortly before South Carolinas presidential primaryAdding a Black woman to the court would mean a series of firsts four female justices and two Black justices serving at the same time on the ninemember court Justice Clarence Thomas is the courts only Black justice and just the second ever after Thurgood MarshallAnd Biden would have the chance to show Black voters increasingly frustrated with a president they helped to elect that he is serious about their concerns particularly after he has been unable to push through voting rights legislationAt the same time Breyers replacement by another liberal justice would not change the ideological makeup of the court Conservatives outnumber liberals by 63 and Donald Trumps three nominees made an already conservative court even more conservativeSenate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer DNY said Bidens nominee ldquowill receive a prompt hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee and will be considered and confirmed by the full United States Senate with all deliberate speedrdquoThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever