Washington is abuzz this morning with rumors that President Joe Biden will name his nominee, an announcement that is expected as soon as today. As previously discussed, President Biden announced that he would only consider Black, female candidates — threshold criteria overwhelmingly opposed by the public. The pledge was as unnecessary as it was unfair. The three short listers — each with impressive backgrounds — are Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, a federal appeals judge; Judge J. Michelle Childs, a federal judge in South Carolina; and Leondra Kruger, a justice on the California Supreme Court. I have previously said that Judge Brown Jackson remains the frontrunner for the position.
The nomination would seek to put a Black woman on the Supreme Court for the first time in its 233-year history.
Biden recently interviewed all three candidates for the job.
Liberal groups have mounted a campaign against Childs for being too moderate and “tough-on-crime.” This concerted opposition campaign, including the Bernie Sanders–aligned Our Revolution group, has also painted Childs as anti-union and pro-employer. President Biden has been criticized for yielding to the far left on nominations in the past.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) has added his voice that the nomination should be “very expeditious.” What Democrats may be fearing the most is the type of nomination practices that they employed in the last three confirmations, including the use of the “Barrett Rule.”
