President Joe Biden announced on Thursday that he would nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court after it was revealed that Justice Stephen Breyer would be retiring, USA Today reports.
Biden commended Breyer’s service as a liberal jurist, saying he was a “model public servant,” and pledged to nominate a Black woman to fill the vacancy, according to USA Today.
The president plans to announce a candidate by the end of February and said his objective is to meet with potential nominees once he reviews the details of their former cases.
He added that he wants to have a "historic candidate" who is "worthy of Justice Breyer's legacy."
“The president has stated and reiterated his commitment to nominating a Black woman to the Supreme Court and certainly stands by that,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said during a news conference, according to BBC.
Biden took to Twitter on Thursday to emphasize his plans to replace Breyer with a Black woman.
The person I nominate to replace Justice Breyer will be someone with extraordinary qualifications. Character, experience, and integrity.
And they will be the first Black woman nominated to the United States Supreme Court.
— President Biden (@POTUS) January 27, 2022
"The person I nominate to replace Justice Breyer will be someone with extraordinary qualifications. Character, experience, and integrity," he said. "And they will be the first Black woman nominated to the United States Supreme Court."
The only two Black men to serve on the Supreme Court were Justice Thurgood Marshall and Justice Clarence Thomas, who succeeded Marshall.
As of now, Ketanji Brown Jackson, 51, and Leondra Kruger, 45, have been speculated to join Biden’s pool of candidates.
