Joe Biden Supreme Court candidates
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Personal U.S. Senator from Delaware 47th Vice President of the United States Vice presidential campaigns 46th President of the United States Incumbent Tenure   |
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With the advice and consent of the United States Senate, the president of the United States appoints the members of the Supreme Court of the United States, which is the highest court of the federal judiciary of the United States. Following his victory in the 2020 presidential election, Democrat Joe Biden took office as president on January 20, 2021. During the 2020 Democratic primary campaign, Biden pledged to appoint a Black woman to the Supreme Court,[1][2][3] although unlike his opponent, Donald Trump, Biden did not release a specific list of potential nominees during the 2020 general election campaign.[4]
In February 2022, Biden selected Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to replace Justice Stephen Breyer, who retired at the end of the court's 2022 term.[5][6][7]
Court composition under Biden
| Name | Appointed | Appointed by | Law school (JD or LLB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Roberts (Chief Justice) |
2005 | George W. Bush | Harvard University |
| Clarence Thomas | 1991 | George H. W. Bush | Yale University |
| Samuel Alito | 2006 | George W. Bush | Yale University |
| Sonia Sotomayor | 2009 | Barack Obama | Yale University |
| Elena Kagan | 2010 | Harvard University | |
| Neil Gorsuch | 2017 | Donald Trump | Harvard University |
| Brett Kavanaugh | 2018 | Yale University | |
| Amy Coney Barrett | 2020 | University of Notre Dame | |
| Ketanji Brown Jackson | 2022 | Joe Biden | Harvard University |
Nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson
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On January 26, 2022, it was reported that Justice Stephen Breyer planned to step down at the end of the court's current term, giving Biden his first opportunity to name a justice to the court.[8] On January 27, Biden reiterated his intention to keep his campaign promise to nominate a Black woman.[9] On February 22, it was reported that Biden had met with his top three contenders, Ketanji Brown Jackson, J. Michelle Childs and Leondra Kruger.[10][11] On February 25, it was announced that Biden would nominate Judge Jackson.[12][6][13][14] On April 7, 2022, Jackson was confirmed by a vote of 53–47.[15] She was then sworn in on June 30, 2022, at noon, when Breyer's retirement went into effect.[16][17][18][19]
Names mentioned as likely nominees
Following is a list of individuals who have been mentioned in various news accounts as possible nominees for a Supreme Court appointment under Biden:
Note: Individuals marked with an asterisk would fulfill Biden's commitment that his first nominee be a Black woman.[9]
Bolded individuals have been selected by Biden for the Supreme Court.
United States Courts of Appeals
- Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
- Ketanji Brown Jackson* (born 1970)[1][20][21][22] (elevated by Biden) (nominated and confirmed)
- Sri Srinivasan (born 1967)[2]
- J. Michelle Childs* (born 1966)[23][24][22] (elevated by Biden)
- Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit
- Eunice C. Lee* (born 1970)[20][21][22] (appointed by Biden)
- Alison Nathan (born 1972)[2] (elevated by Biden)
- Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit
- Arianna J. Freeman* (born 1978) (appointed by Biden)[21]
- Tamika Montgomery-Reeves* (born 1981) (appointed by Biden)[25][22]
- Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit
- Candace Jackson-Akiwumi* (born 1979)[23][22] (appointed by Biden)
- Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
- Michelle Friedland (born 1972)[20]
- Lucy Koh (born 1968)[2] (elevated by Biden)
- Jacqueline Nguyen (born 1965)[2]
- Holly A. Thomas* (born 1979)[23][21] (appointed by Biden)
- Paul J. Watford (born 1967)[20]
- Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit
- Nancy Abudu* (born 1974)[21] (appointed by Biden)
- Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
- Tiffany P. Cunningham* (born 1976)[20][21] (appointed by Biden)
- Todd M. Hughes (born 1966)[2]
United States District Courts
- Leslie Abrams Gardner* (born 1974) – Judge of the Middle District of Georgia[1][20][22]
- J. Paul Oetken (born 1965) – Judge of the Southern District of New York[2]
- Wilhelmina Wright* (born 1964) – Judge of the District of Minnesota and former Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court[26][21][22]
State Supreme Courts
- Cheri Beasley* (born 1966) – former Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court[24]
- Anita Earls* (born 1960) – Associate Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court[26][21]
- Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar (born 1972) — former Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court[2]
- Leondra Kruger* (born 1976) – Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court[23][21][22]
- Goodwin Liu (born 1970) – Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court[2]
- Maite Oronoz Rodríguez (born 1976) – Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico[2]
State government officials
- Stacey Abrams* (born 1973) – former Minority Leader of the Georgia House of Representatives and 2018 nominee for Governor of Georgia[2][3]
- Keisha Lance Bottoms* (born 1970) – former Mayor of Atlanta[2][3]
- Letitia James* (born 1958) – Attorney General of New York[2][3]
Academics
- Michelle Alexander* (born 1967) – author and civil rights advocate[1][3]
- Danielle Holley-Walker* (born c. 1975) – dean of the Howard University School of Law[20][24]
- Pamela S. Karlan (born 1959) – professor of law at Stanford Law School[2]
- Melissa Murray* (born 1975), professor of law at New York University School of Law[1][3][21]
- L. Song Richardson* (born 1966–67), president of Colorado College[22]
- Kenji Yoshino (born 1969) – professor of constitutional law at New York University School of Law[2]
Executive branch
- Kristen Clarke* (born 1975) – Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division[20][22]
Other fields
- Sherrilyn Ifill* (born 1962) – director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund[1][21][22]
See also
- Judicial appointment history for United States federal courts
- List of federal judges appointed by Joe Biden
- United States federal judge
References
- ^ a b c d e f Kapur, Sahil (May 6, 2020). "Biden pledged to put a black woman on the Supreme Court. Here's what he might have to do". NBC News.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Friess, Steve (September 22, 2020). "If Elected, Who Would Joe Biden Pick for the Supreme Court?". Newsweek.
- ^ a b c d e f Patrice, Joe (September 2, 2020). "Who Would Joe Biden Add To The Supreme Court?". Above the Law.
- ^ Cole, Devan; Mucha, Sarah (September 20, 2020). "Biden says he will not release list of his potential Supreme Court nominees before election". CNN.
- ^ "Justice Stephen Breyer to retire from Supreme Court, paving way for Biden appointment". NBC News. January 27, 2022. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
- ^ a b Rogers, Katie (February 25, 2022). "Live Updates: Biden Picks Ketanji Brown Jackson for Supreme Court". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
- ^ "Justice Breyer Retirement Letter" (PDF). Chambers of Justice Stephen Breyer. Washington, DC: Supreme Court of the United States. June 29, 2022. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
- ^ Williams, Pete (January 26, 2022). "Justice Stephen Breyer to retire from Supreme Court, paving way for Biden appointment". NBC News. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
- ^ a b Shear, Michael D. (January 27, 2022). "Live Updates: Biden Vows to Name Supreme Court Nominee by End of February". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
- ^ Cordes, Nancy; O'Keefe, Ed (February 23, 2022). "Biden has interviewed his top three Supreme Court candidates". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
- ^ de Vogue, Ariane; Biskupic, Joan; Raju, Manu (February 22, 2022). "Biden has met with at least three potential Supreme Court nominees". CNN. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
- ^ Gambino, Lauren (February 25, 2022). "Biden nominates Ketanji Brown Jackson to become first Black woman on supreme court". the Guardian. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
- ^ Jake Tapper; Ariane de Vogue; Jeff Zeleny; Betsy Klein (February 25, 2022). "Biden to nominate Ketanji Brown Jackson to be first Black woman to sit on Supreme Court". CNN. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
- ^ Chasmar, Jessica (February 21, 2022). "Biden to nominate Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to Supreme Court". Fox News. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
- ^ "Senate confirms Ketanji Brown Jackson to Supreme Court in historic vote". NBC News. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
- ^ Fritze, John (March 6, 2022). "Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson would add another Protestant voice to heavily Catholic Supreme Court". Yahoo! News. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
- ^ de Vogue, Ariane (June 30, 2022). "Ketanji Brown Jackson to join a Supreme Court in turmoil". CNN. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
- ^ "WATCH LIVE: Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson sworn in as first Black woman on Supreme Court". PBS NewsHour. June 30, 2022. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
- ^ "Ketanji Brown Jackson sworn in as first Black woman on US top court". BBC. June 30, 2022. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Millhiser, Ian (January 26, 2022). "Who is on Biden's shortlist to replace retiring Justice Breyer?". Vox.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k de Vogue, Ariane (January 29, 2022). "White House considering wider list of Supreme Court nominees". CNN. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "The 11 likeliest people to get Biden's Supreme Court nomination". The Washington Post. January 31, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
- ^ a b c d Long, Colleen; Miller, Zeke; Balsamo, Michael; Gresko, Jessica (January 26, 2022). "At least 3 judges eyed as Biden mulls Supreme Court pick". AP NEWS. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
- ^ a b c Martin, Jonathan (February 21, 2021). "How Democrats Are Already Maneuvering to Shape Biden's First Supreme Court Pick". The New York Times. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
- ^ Kreis, Anthony Michael. "A super long shot SCOTUS nominee". Twitter. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
- ^ a b de Vogue, Ariane; Sneed, Tierney (January 26, 2022). "Biden said he'd put a Black woman on the Supreme Court. Here's who he may pick to replace Breyer". CNN. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
