Clyburn confirms he urged Biden to nominate Black woman to Supreme Court, floats possible candidate

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House Majority Whip James Clyburn confirmed Thursday that he pushed President Biden to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court and floated a possible candidate that he would like to see appointed. Rep. Clyburn played an instrumental role in helping Biden secure the Democratic nomination for president. 

"Not a single time has a Black woman ever been seriously considered," the South Carolina Democrat told the Washington Post. "And so I took that issue up with then candidate Biden back in 2020. Twenty that I thought that the time of the right for us to do something about that. How many times have you heard it said that black women are the backbone of the Democratic Party?"

Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., said he is "absolutely concerned" about the legitimacy of the 2022 midterm elections.  (Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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Clyburn continued, "Well, you just can't say you've got to show it. I happen to have been born and raised in the past, and I believe it's their deeds that matter, not their words. And so President Biden made it a commitment at the Charleston debate back in February. Two years ago, and said that if he got the opportunity, he would appoint or nominate an African-American woman to serve on the court."

In their book "Lucky", journalists Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes wrote that a frustrated Clyburn confronted Biden off-stage during a debate in February 2020 and urged him to pledge to nominate a Black woman to the nation’s highest court. Biden made the pledge later in the debate and received Clyburn’s endorsement the next day which many believe catapulted his struggling campaign to the front of the pack. 

Biden was presented with his first opportunity to nominate a Supreme Court justice and follow through on his pledge to nominate a Black woman when it was revealed that liberal Justice Stephen Breyer is stepping down later this year. 

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Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer announces his retirement in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022. President Biden looks on. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Clyburn told the Washington Post that out of the possible candidates to fill Breyer’s position, he is partial to South Carolina District Court Judge Michelle Childs.

 "Now, as it relates to who I don't have anything against the seven or eight names that I have been floated as possibilities, the all great people," Clyburn said. "The fact of the matter is, I have been discussing Michelle Childs with the president and his people now for, I guess at least 13 months now."

Clyburn touted Childs’ path from a blue-collar family through South Carolina Public Law School to working as a deputy director of a state agency and as a workers comp judge. Clyburn said she knows the corporate side of the world as well as the labor side and that she has been an "outstanding federal judge."

Clyburn also expressed optimism that Childs could "absolutely" earn Republican support in a heavily divided and polarized Senate. 

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"We have two Republican senators from South Carolina," Clyburn said. "Both of them know Michelle very well and both of them have spoken highly of her and the Republicans all over this state because she's an outstanding jurist."

Biden said Thursday that he has not decided on a specific candidate he will nominate but plans to make his pick known by the end of February. 

Judge J. Michelle Childs, who was nominated by President Barack Obama to the United States District Court, District of South Carolina, is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, April 16, 2010, during her nomination hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

"I've made no decision except one: The person I will nominate will be someone with extraordinary qualifications, character, experience and integrity. And that person will be the first Black woman ever nominated to the United States Supreme Court," Biden said. "It's long overdue, in my view."

Biden added: "It is my intention… to announce my decision by the end of February."