Georgetown Law official deletes tweets saying Biden will pick 'lesser black woman' over better SCOTUS candidates

On Thursday, The Daily Beast reported that a newly appointed Georgetown Law School executive and former right-wing think tank director is in hot water after a pair of tweets disparaging President Joe Biden's pledge to appoint a Black woman to fill the Supreme Court seat of outgoing Justice Stephen Breyer.

"Former Cato Institute director Ilya Shapiro, now executive director of Georgetown’s Center for the Constitution, wrote, 'Objectively best pick for Biden is Sri Srinivasan, who is solid prog and [very] smart. Even has identity politics benefit of being first Asian (Indian) American. But alas doesn’t fit into last intersectionality hierarchy so we’ll get lesser black woman. Thank heaven for small favors?'" reported Blake Montgomery. "In a second tweet, Shapiro added, 'Because Biden said he’s only consider [sic] black women for SCOTUS, his nominee will always have an asterisk attached. Fitting that the Court takes up affirmative action next term.'"

According to the report, Shapiro has now deleted both tweets and called them "inartful," while Georgetown Law Dean William Treanor denounced the comments as "demeaning," "appalling," and "at odds with everything we stand for at Georgetown Law" in an email.

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Shapiro's attacks come as Republicans are attempting to pre-emptively paint Biden's nominee as a radical, even before Biden has chosen who he will nominate.

Biden's commitment to appointing a Black Supreme Court justice is part of a broader project by his administration to diversify the federal bench — not just racially, but also naming lawyers from a variety of backgrounds underrepresented on the judiciary like legal aid, public defense, and civil rights.