Mr. Jim Clyburn said he has not spoken to President Biden or Clyburn’s top choice for the Supreme Court to replace Judge Stephen Breyer, South Carolina Judge J. Michelle Childs, since Breyer was announced to be leaving. retirement.
“No, I haven’t spoken to President Biden or to Michelle Childs in the last 24 or 48 hours or even the last few days. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I talked to Michelle. I spoke to the President a few weeks ago,” Clyburn said on Washington Post Live.
Although Clyburn said the women on the shortlist to replace Breyer were “all great people,” he made it clear why Childs should be the judge to serve as the next justice. by the Supreme Court.
The White House yesterday said Biden stand to the side of his commitment to nominate a black woman to the Supreme Court, which will be a historic first.
“As it pertains to who it is, I don’t have anything against the seven or eight names I’ve considered floating; they are all great people. The fact of the matter is, I’ve been discussing Michelle Childs with the President and his people for now, I guess, for at least 13 months,” Clyburn said.
Clyburn said that “she has what I call the background and experience that we have to have, that judges and juries have to have.”
“The time has come for us to diversify the court – not just because it relates to gender, but also to color as well as to background and experience. And it would be helpful to have someone from the South,” added Clyburn. “She will bring a unique perspective to the Supreme Court.”
Clyburn argued that Childs could “absolutely” win Republican support, an obvious metric that Biden said he would look for in a candidate. Clyburn said that South Carolina Republican Sensation. Tim Scott and Lindsey Graham know Childs “very well” and “talk very highly” of her.
“If you look at the experiences, there’s no one sitting on the Supreme Court today who can present the background, the experiences – life and career – that Michelle Childs will bring to court. It’s just that simple. And I think the Republicans appreciate that as much as the Democrats. And I’ve been hearing from Republicans since yesterday. They appreciate her very much, and not just here in South Carolina. I heard it’s very far from Illinois,” said Clyburn.
Clyburn rejected the notion that Childs doesn’t have enough experience because she has yet to serve on the DC District Court, even though she was recently nominated to that round. When asked if he thinks DC Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson would be a better fit to fill the Supreme Court vacancy, Clyburn said that although he doesn’t have anything against Jackson, he argues that “more experience does not mean the best experience.”
Although Clyburn brought his case to Childs, he acknowledged that this was ultimately Biden’s decision.
“I am expressing my feelings and the White House can feel what they need. And I’ll just react accordingly,” he said.
Broadly speaking, Clyburn spoke about the importance of Biden’s nomination of a Black woman to the Supreme Court, especially considering his commitment to doing so at the two-year Charleston presidential debate. before.
“How many times have you heard it say that Black women are the backbone of the Democratic party? Well, you just can’t say it; you have to show it,” says Clyburn.
