Biden has “chosen his Supreme Court candidate”, who could be the first black judge in history and will make the announcement this morning, White House sources say.
- According to sources close to the issue, President Joe Biden has chosen his candidate for the Supreme Court
- The search comes down to three candidates: Ketanji Brown Jackson, Michelle Childs and Leondra Krueger
- Jackson is a judge at the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, which supports theories that she could be nominated after a decision on Thursday
- Legal experts say this is remarkable because the court violated its usual schedule for issuing opinions on Tuesdays and Fridays.
President Joe Biden has decided on his own Supreme Court nominated and may make the official announcement as early as Friday morning, according to sources close to the issue.
Biden promised to reveal his nomination by the end of February, but two sources close to the trial said CBS News that he made his decision on Thursday night and could make the announcement as early as Friday.
The search has been reduced to three candidates to replace retired judge Stephen Brier, with finalists including Ketanji Brown Jackson, 51, Michelle Childs, 55, and Leondra Krueger, 45.
Jackson is a judge in the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia; Leondra Krueger sits on California Supreme Court; and J. Michelle Childs is a judge in the Federal District Court of Columbia, South Carolina.
According to sources close to the issue, President Joe Biden has chosen his candidate for the Supreme Court. Ketanji Brown Jackson, 51, is a judge in the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
Another candidate is 45-year-old Leondra Krueger, who is in the California Supreme Court
Michelle Childs, 55, is a judge in the District Court of Columbia, South Carolina.
If Biden makes the announcement on Friday, it will mark two years since the primary debate in 2020 in South Carolina, when he first pledged to choose the first African-American woman of justice.
Coinciding with Biden’s decision Thursday night, the U.S. District Court of Appeals has raised theories that Jackson will be elected by Biden.
He came after the court left its usual procedure by issuing an opinion on Thursday, unlike its typical schedule for issuing opinions on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Jackson reportedly was in the majority in the 2-1 case and would most likely resign if the case was dropped after her nomination, which will split the commission.
Legal experts said CNN that the theory stems from a similar scenario that unfolded when current Judge Brett Cavanaugh was nominated.
“In part, this is because we saw a similar scene unfold in July 2018 with then-District Judge Brett Cavanaugh,” Steve Vladek, an analyst at CNN’s Supreme Court and a professor at the University of Texas Law School, told the paper.
“DC Circuit issued a 2-1 decision on Monday – a day when no decisions are usually made – in a case where Cavanaugh was in the majority. If the case was dropped after his nomination was announced a few hours later, he would probably withdraw and the commission would split 1-1.
“It is not difficult to imagine that the same calculation explains why this 2-1 decision with Judge Jackson in the majority came out today – another day when the court does not usually issue hasty decisions,” he concluded.
The case on Thursday was an unjustified decision on an urgent issue, a DC Circuit court official told CNN, adding that the court always has the opportunity to issue opinions at any time and has done so many times over the years on urgent issues.
The case involved a dispute between a Connecticut power plant and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, CNN reported. Earlier this month, DC Circuit intervened to suspend an order from FERC that would block the plant from selling energy to consumers.
Thursday’s ruling was a court ruling explaining why they issued the emergency order and was written by Jackson and District Judge Neomi Rao.
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