Over the weekend, the White House went directly after recent comments from Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) complaining about President Joe Biden’s pledge to nominate a Black woman to the U.S. Supreme Court — for the first time in history — to replace Justice Stephen Breyer, who recently announced his retirement. In a radio interview, Wicker ranted that the “irony is that the Supreme Court is at the very same time hearing cases about this sort of affirmative racial discrimination, while adding someone who is the beneficiary of this sort of quota,” but that’s not what’s underlying this development. It’s not about some kind of artificial standard — it’s about the fact that Black women have never been on the U.S. Supreme Court, no matter their portion of the general population. If that’s not a glaring issue poised to be fixed, then what is?
Roger Williams was at the Congressional baseball practice where Steve Scalise got shot, a few months into Trump’s presidency. A Williams staffer was shot, and Williams reportedly sprained an ankle.
— Roger Sollenberger found true love, suckers (@SollenbergerRC) January 30, 2022
In a statement directly credited to White House communications official Andrew Bates, the Biden team — all of whom speak, in a way, on Biden’s behalf — laid it out as follows:
‘President Biden’s promise that he would nominate and confirm the first Black woman to the Supreme Court is in line with the best traditions of both parties and our nation. When President Reagan honored his campaign pledge to place the first woman on the court, he said it “symbolized” the unique American opportunity “that permits persons of any sex, age, or race, from every section and every walk of life to aspire and achieve in a manner never before dreamed about in human history.” President Biden has established one of the strongest track records ever when it comes to choosing extraordinarily qualified and groundbreaking nominees — as the American Bar Association ratings for his 42 confirmed nominees demonstrate.’
Donald Trump just said that he would pardon people who tried to overthrow the government if he's president again. This isn't politics as usual, this is a coup happening in front of us in real time.
— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) January 30, 2022
Bates went on to note that Wicker was in support of the then-president’s pick after Trump followed through on his specific promise to nominate a woman to the U.S. Supreme Court and selected then-Judge Amy Coney Barrett. What’s so different now? At this point, it’s unclear who exactly that Biden might end up selecting for the seat that Breyer is vacating, but the president has indicated that he plans to announce his choice before the end of February. Although Trump’s pace of seeing his judicial nominees confirmed drew serious concern, Biden hasn’t held back. Biden’s first calendar year as president ended with more of his judicial nominees confirmed than any other president in their first year since Ronald Reagan.
White House responds to Sen Wicker calling Biden's pending SCOTUS pick a “beneficiary” of affirmative action. @AndrewJBates46: Biden's pledge to nominate Black woman "is in line with the best traditions of both parties and our nation," cites Reagan's promise to nom the 1st woman pic.twitter.com/k5zBFDROLo
— Laura Barrón-López (@lbarronlopez) January 29, 2022
