(Fwrd Axis) — President Joe Biden will begin interviewing Supreme Court candidates next week as he mulls his decision on who to name to the highest court at the end of the month, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter.
Biden met with Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who will handle the nominee’s confirmation, on Thursday night for over an hour and informed them he will begin the interview process for the finalists next week.
The President has promised to name a Black woman to the Supreme Court, saying the nomination is “long overdue”. Top names under consideration for the job include Judge J. Michelle Childs, Ketanji Brown Jackson and California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger.
The Washington Post was the first to report the story of Biden beginning interviews next week.
House Majority Whip James Clyburn has been pushing for Childs to get the job. Clyburn is a long-time Biden ally who played a key role in getting the President to vow he’d name a Black woman to the Supreme Court on the campaign trail.
In an interview with NBC News on Thursday, Biden confirmed he’s “taken about four people and done the deep dive” and put the candidates through FBI background checks to “see if there’s anything in the background that would make them not qualified.”
A preview of @POTUS’ #SBLVI interview with @LesterHoltNBC. On #SCOTUS, Biden says: “I've taken about four people and done the deep dive on them, meaning thorough background checks, to see if there's anything in the background that would make them not qualified.” pic.twitter.com/T2DAdRbmlx
— Stephen Michael (@stephenreports) February 10, 2022
“I’m not looking to make an ideological choice here, I’m looking for someone to replace [retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer] with the same kind of capacity Judge Breyer had, with an open mind, who understands the Constitution, interprets it in a way that is consistent with the mainstream interpretation of the Constitution,” Biden told Lester Holt.
The Democratic senators emphasized an “urgency” to get the candidate confirmed and on the court, which was the case with the October 2020 confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris said there are a “wealth of extraordinarily qualified potential nominees” who are being considered for the job.
“We’re anxious to get started,” Senator Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) told reporters after the meeting.
During Thursday’s interview, Biden said he is confident his eventual nominee will get Republican support.
“I think whomever I pick will get a vote from the Republican side,” he said.
