Amidst the open Supreme Court vacancy following Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement, President Joe Biden recently made a vow to nominate the first Black female judge to occupy the spot. The president has shortlisted ten nominees from a variety of backgrounds as potential candidates. 

“I think that Biden’s Supreme Court nominations are all qualified for the job and will truly help diversify and unite our country. His push to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court will break the trend of having mostly white men in power and help provide a different perspective that represents the nation more clearly,” Lillian Derenthal, senior, said. 

Many feel nominating and confirming the first-ever Black female judge for the Supreme Court would pave the way for the White House to shift the narrative of U.S. politics. Biden and his team have been in the process of reviewing each candidate for the past few months. Once Biden decides on his nomination, a simple majority vote is required by the Senate to confirm the nominee. 

“I am looking for a candidate of character with the qualities of a judge in terms of being courteous to folks before them and treating people with respect, as well as a judicial philosophy that is more one that suggests that there are unenumerated rights [not explicitly listed] in the Constitution,” Biden said in a conversation with committe members.  

Breyer’s retirement sets the stage for one of the most important endeavors for the Biden administration, as the nomination is a life-long legacy of Biden’s presidency. The White House is stacked with officials working on the nominations—most notably Biden himself and White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain.  

“Our process is going to be rigorous. I will select a nominee worthy of Justice Breyer’s legacy of excellence and decency (…) And, that person will be the first Black woman ever nominated to the United States Supreme Court,” Biden confirmed at the White House. 

This decision, however, has stirred controversy among the American public and politicians. Republican Senator Ted Cruz states in his podcast that the nominations were an ‘insult to Black women’ and that it was ‘offensive,’ stating that other Americans were automatically ‘ineligible’ to attain the position because of race and gender.  

“We know that they are the most qualified, they have a real depth of intelligence, they have the qualifications, they have the experience (…) to think that there is one ultimate best pick is wrong,” Lena Zwarensteyn, senior director of the Fair Courts Program at the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said in response to Cruz’s statement.  

Biden will continue meeting with experts, leaders, and the contenders before announcing his decision by his self-imposed deadline at the end of February.