With the announcement of Justice Stephen Breyer leaving the Supreme Court, speculation has surfaced about who President Joe Biden's choice will be as a replacement. But one campaign promise of Biden's is triggering Republicans after he affirmed Wednesday that he would appoint a Black woman to the High Court.
Biden made the promise as part of his effort to repay Black women who were instrumental in his 2020 victory, but also because the Black female experience has been absent on the Court since its creation. For a Court to be representative of the country it represents, activists have argued that that voice is needed.
Republicans, however, were triggered, raging about "quotas," "identity politics" and "affirmative action" and various racist comments couched in faux concern.
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Conservative Tomi Lahren was hammered for the claim that the job would go to an unqualified Black woman due to identity politics. However, there are highly qualified Black women to consider. The two main judges some speculate could be appointed are a state Supreme Court justice and a U.S. District Court judge.
Picking a nominee based solely on race, gender and identity politics is what I\u2019m criticizing, and you know that.https://twitter.com/secupp/status/1486401035451219971\u00a0\u2026— Tomi Lahren (@Tomi Lahren) 1643223358
Jen Psaki just reaffirmed that the President will only consider a black woman for the next nomination -- a threshold gender and race condition that the Court itself has found unconstitutional for schools and unlawful for private businesses.https://jonathanturley.org/2020/03/19/supreme-identity-politics-biden-pledges-to-only-consider-black-females-for-supreme-court-pick/\u00a0\u2026— Jonathan Turley (@Jonathan Turley) 1643226429
I'm going to self-identify as a Black woman until Biden picks his Supreme Court nominee. I realize it's a long shot, but I don't want to completely take myself out of the conversation for the job.— Scott Adams (@Scott Adams) 1643291737
But as law professor Steve Vladeck pointed out, President Ronald Reagan promised to appoint the first woman to the Supreme Court when he was elected. Conservatives at the time celebrated it as a good move. Two others made a similar point, which you can see below:
Reagan promised to appoint the first woman to #SCOTUS, and it was generally viewed as both a savvy political move and an overdue breaking of the glass ceiling.\n\nBiden promises to appoint the first black woman to #SCOTUS, and the righties throw a fit.\n\nI wonder what\u2019s different\u2026pic.twitter.com/eOnTFHpYZy— Steve Vladeck (@Steve Vladeck) 1643289664
"They can miss me with their fake outrage over identity politics now, when they're ones who have been practicing it for years." \n\n@ElieNYC\u00a0on Republican criticism of President Joe Biden's vow to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court to replace Justice Stephen Breyer.pic.twitter.com/Vtruy7S8Jt— New Day (@New Day) 1643289041
Here\u2019s what \u201cqualified\u201d looks like.pic.twitter.com/xc8hjnZaA1— Maya Wiley (@Maya Wiley) 1643295466
