President Joe Biden had an opportunity last week to wriggle out of his campaign promise to appoint a Black woman to the U.S. Supreme Court. Standing alongside Justice Stephen G. Breyer, who announced his plan to retire at the end of the current court session in June, Biden said he would “select a nominee worthy of Justice Breyer’s legacy of excellence and decency,” and he could have simply added that the pool of potential justices would include Black women. He’d have taken some heat for watering down his pledge, but it would probably pass.
Instead, the president doubled down. Good.
“The person I will nominate will be somebody with extraordinary qualifications, character, experience and integrity,” Biden said. “And that person will be the first Black woman ever nominated to the United States Supreme Court.”
