Biden Reportedly Eying Longer List Of Candidates For Supreme Court Seat – Here’s Who They Are

Topline

After confirming Friday evening that J. Michelle Childs, a U.S. district court judge in South Carolina, is among the jurists President Joe Biden is considering nominating to the Supreme Court following Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement announcement, the White House is now reportedly considering a much wider number of people for the seat.

Key Facts

Childs, along with Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson and California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger have been widely considered as front-runners for the position, but on Saturday, CNN and USA Today reported a long list of other candidates that the White House was said to be considering, each citing a single source familiar with the situation.

The names included 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Holly Thomas, 7th Circuit Judge Candace Jackson-Akiwumi, federal Circuit Court Judge Tiffany Cunningham, 11th Circuit Court candidate Nancy Abudu, 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals candidate Arianna Freeman and North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls.

Biden nominated Childs to a D.C. appeals court, but her confirmation hearing for the position scheduled for next week was postponed, and White House spokesperson Andrew Bates told the Washington Post she is “among multiple individuals under consideration for the Supreme Court.”

Sherrilyn Ifill, a civil rights attorney who is stepping down from her role as president of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and federal District Court Judge Wilhelmina Wright have also been previously floated as contenders for the job, and are reportedly also on Biden’s list.

What To Watch For

Biden said he expects to pick his first nominee for the country’s highest court by the end of February. The nominee will likely be confirmed by the court’s next term, which begins on October 3.

Key Background

Reports of Justice Breyer’s retirement broke Wednesday, and the following day, the 83-year-old justice announced his plans to retire at the end of the current Supreme Court term in late June or early July, “assuming that by then my successor has been nominated and confirmed.” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) vowed to confirm Biden’s nominee with “all deliberate speed” following the announcement, and Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) added he would work “expeditiously” through the committee, signaling a fast-moving process once the nominee is announced. Multiple news outlets report Democrats plan to follow a rushed timeline, similar to Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation in 2020, which took about a month.

Further Reading

White House considering wider list of Supreme Court nominees (CNN)

Biden considering Judge J. Michelle Childs and may be casting wider net for Supreme Court vacancy (USA Today)

Stephen Breyer’s Supreme Court Retirement Is Official—Here’s What Happens Next (Forbes)

White House Confirms Biden Will Pick Black Woman For Supreme Court. Here’s Who It Might Be. (Forbes)