[ad_1]
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday that President Biden will interview contenders to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer “as soon as next week” — adding that a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine isn’t affecting the search timeline.
Biden told NBC News in an interview Thursday that he’s done a “deep dive” into the backgrounds of “about four” possible picks.
Psaki said Friday that “there’s not plans for” the president to interview candidates this weekend when he visits the Camp David retreat in Maryland.
“I can tell you that It could be as early as next week,” Psaki said of Biden’s interview plans. “I would not echo reporting that it is definitely next week.”
Psaki, speaking as US officials warned of imminent war in Eastern Europe, added that “we remain on track for the president to make a decision, an announcement on who he is going to nominate to the Supreme Court this month, in next few weeks.”
“That was his intention from the beginning, remains his intention now and he will continue to read a range of cases, study the materials about a range of candidates — that has not been changed by whatever decision [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin makes,” she said.
Psaki further noted that “the interview process for any president typically happens very late in the process.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan warned Friday that Russia may launch an invasion of Ukraine in the coming days during the ongoing Winter Olympics in Beijing. Russia has demanded that NATO guarantee that it won’t ever accept Ukraine as a member, but the Atlantic alliance has refused to do so.
Biden pledged during his 2020 presidential campaign to pick a black woman as his first Supreme Court nominee.
Breyer is one of three justices nominated by a Democratic president. Biden’s selection is not expected to shift the ideological balance of the nine-member court and Senate Democrats can confirm the nominee to the lifetime post without Republican support.
Top contenders include 51-year-old DC appeals Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, a former Breyer clerk who was confirmed by the Senate 53-47 last year with three Republican votes.
Georgia federal Judge Leslie Abrams Gardner, 47, the sister of two-time Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, and California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger, 45, are also believed to be in contention.
House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-SC) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) have openly campaigned for Biden to pick South Carolina federal judge J. Michelle Childs, 55.
Vice President Kamala Harris, 57, has also been mooted as a potential contender due to her past roles as California attorney general and San Francisco district attorney. Biden insisted last month that Harris will be his running mate if he seeks re-election in 2024.
[ad_2]