President Joe Biden has chosen his Supreme Court candidate, according to two sources familiar with the issue.
The president’s choice to succeed Justice Stephen Breyer, who is retiring this year, was not immediately evident.
The names of federal justices Ketanji Brown Jackson and J. Michelle Childs, as well as California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger, have touted as finalists. Biden spoke with the three judges, according to sources familiar with the situation.
A federal court decision earlier this week heightened the speculation about Jackson as a possible nominee.
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit broke from tradition by issuing an opinion on a Thursday, rather than the normal Tuesday or Friday. In the 2-1 verdict on the case, Jackson was in the majority.
According to a source on Thursday, an announcement could take place before the weekend.
Will Biden Postpone Announcement?
Given Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the exact timing of the announcement is uncertain. But a Friday ceremony would represent two years after Biden made his initial commitment to name the first African American female justice during a 2020 primary debate in South Carolina.
However, officials suggested that if the announcement is postponed beyond Friday afternoon, it will be made no later than Monday. It is the day before the State of the Union address.
Biden, who committed as a presidential candidate to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court for the first time in US history, will announce his pick by Monday, according to the White House.
According to NBC News, Biden met with White House lawyer Dana Remus and his director of legislative affairs, Louisa Terrell, in the Oval Office on Wednesday to discuss Supreme Court consultations with senators.
Breyer, 83, announced last month that he would leave the Supreme Court at the end of the current term. He is the second-longest-serving justice after Clarence Thomas, with 27 years on the court.