Since Biden took office in January 2021, he has focused on nominating a diverse group of judges to the federal bench, not just in race but also in professional expertise.
By the end of his first year, Biden had won confirmation of 40 judges, the most since President Ronald Reagan.
Michelle Childs and California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss White House deliberations.
“He has a strong pool to select a candidate from, in addition to other sources.
Jackson, 51, was nominated by President Barack Obama to be a district court judge.
Childs, a federal judge in South Carolina, has been nominated but not yet confirmed to serve on the same circuit court.
Breyer, 83, will retire at the end of the summer, according to sources who confirmed the news to The Associated Press on Wednesday.
When Biden was running for the White House, he said that if he had the chance to nominate someone to the court, he would make history by choosing a Black woman.
It’s long past time,” Biden said in February 2020 shortly before South Carolina’s presidential primary.
Adding a Black woman to the court would mean a series of firsts — four female justices and two Black justices serving at the same time on the nine-member court.
Republicans who changed the Senate rules during the Trump-era to allow simple majority confirmation of Supreme Court nominees appeared resigned to the outcome.
One contender would be the head of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Sherrilyn Ifill, 59.
The Supreme Court has had three women on it for more than a decade, since 2010, when Obama named Justice Elena Kagan to replace the retiring John Paul Stevens.