Influence campaigns, meticulous investigations and some questionable maneuvering: tensions are growing in Washington as Joe Biden announces his Supreme Court nominee.
The Democratic president has promised to nominate, for the first time in history, an African-American woman for the highest court and must give her name by the end of February.
So far, he has said he is targeting four candidates, all “incredibly qualified,” to replace progressive Justice Stephen Breyer, who will retire in June at the end of the session.
With an unblemished career in both the public and private sectors, Ketanji Brown Jackson, 51, a judge on the prestigious Federal Court of Appeals in Washington, has long been a favorite.
But Justice Michelle Childs, 55, has risen in the forecasts thanks to the campaign supported by Democratic and Republican congressmen who appreciate her humble origins and her career away from the capital.
For her part, Leondra Kruger, judge of the Supreme Court of California (west), emerged as a good option thanks to her young age -45 years- and her perception of a brilliant mind. Finally, a less visible figure might barge in unexpectedly.
Meanwhile, resume, decisions, speeches… everything is finely scrutinized by the White House, which wants to avoid unpleasant surprises during the confirmation process.
no ideology
The United States Constitution provides that the Court’s nine judges be appointed for life by the president and confirmed by the upper house of Congress.
The confirmation, which for decades was a formality, has become, with the growing polarization of the political class, the object of bitter battles.
The starkest happened in 2018 after then-Republican President Donald Trump appointed Judge Brett Kavanaugh after a woman accused him of sexual assault dating back to his youth. These accusations, which he adamantly denied, nearly derailed his controversial confirmation.
In addition, Trump brought in three judges during his term, which firmly anchored the institution in conservatism. Although Justice Breyer’s replacement won’t change that balance, he is expected to tip the scales a bit.
But given Democrats’ weak control of the Senate, the White House wants to come up with a name that might win the support of some Republican congressmen.
For this reason, it meticulously examines the writings and declarations of the candidates, looking for any phrase or comment that could be read as a sign of a position that is too marked to the left.
“I’m not looking to make an ideological choice, but someone to replace Justice Breyer, with an open mind who understands the Constitution and interprets it in a way that is consistent with the dominant interpretation,” Biden explained on NBC, saying he was confident he would count. with the votes of some opposition senators.
“everything you need”
To achieve this, his teams are intensifying contacts with members of Congress and the president himself has received several influential legislators.
Among them, two South Carolina congresswomen are openly campaigning for Michelle Childs, who has spent her entire career in this state.
“She has what it takes to be a great Supreme Court Justice,” argued lawmaker Jim Clyburn, who gave Joe Biden a crucial boost during the 2020 campaign and could, based on that, expect some compensation.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham was more direct: “She would get the most Republican votes,” perhaps as many as 10, he told ABC television. “Anyone else would be trouble,” she said.
But some voices from the Democratic left wing criticize the magistrate for having defended, when she was a lawyer, large companies against their employees.
Without naming her, two congressmen circulated a letter denouncing “the dominance of pro-business judges in the Supreme Court.”
In the ongoing intense lobbying, some have used less laudable procedures.
According to Politico, a former Ketanji Brown Jackson aide edited the candidates’ Wikipedia pages to make his former boss — who was unaware of the ruse — appear more progressive than her rivals.
Biden “will not be swayed by public campaigning, attacks or lobbying,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki promised. “She will remain focused on the qualifications, the files, the past and the references” of the candidates.
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