Biden to nominate first Black woman to sit on supreme court by end of February

Joe Biden intends to announce his nominee to become the first Black woman to sit on the US supreme court by the end of February, the president said on Thursday at a formal White House event to mark the retirement of the liberal-leaning justice Stephen Breyer.

The Washington Post, citing an anonymous source, said that the majority leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, is aiming for a similar timeline.

Replacing Breyer with a like-minded justice is seen by many Democrats as critical in preserving the already beleaguered rump of liberals on the bench. The retiring justice is one of only three such individuals on the nine-justice court, and they are so outnumbered that the country now faces drastic changes in several key areas from abortion to guns and affirmative action.

Speaking in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Breyer made a lyrical paean to American unity. Recalling a speech he likes to deliver to school students, he said that the US was an experiment that is still going on.

To reduce any risk of Democratic splits, Schumer will also be looking to lure Republican moderates such as Susan Collins from Maine and Lisa Murkowski from Alaska to their side.

Similar calculations will be at play on the Democratic side. Party strategists will want to leverage the nomination of a Black woman as an energizing factor at the polls for important elements of its electorate who include African Americans, women and progressive voters.