During a recently released episode of his podcast alongside co-host Michael Knowles, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) went on a bizarrely antagonistic tirade against President Joe Biden’s pledge to nominate a Black woman to replace U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, who recently announced his retirement. Cruz called Biden’s promise “offensive,” characterizing white people as somehow getting unfairly penalized in this situation — which is just ridiculous. It’s not about some kind of arbitrary quota; at issue, rather, is the fact that no Black woman has ever been on the U.S. Supreme Court, despite their portion of the general population. If that’s not a glaring issue to be fixed, then what is?
We are not protecting our democracy if we let the Senators who enabled January 6 continue serving in the Senate as though it’s business as usual. Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley need to resign or be expelled.
— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) January 30, 2022
Cruz complained that Black women are “what, 6 percent of the population?” — which amounts to almost 20 million people! And yet, no Black woman has ever been on the U.S. Supreme Court. Cruz also characterized Biden’s ambition as an “insult to Black women,” as though he — as someone who is neither Black nor a woman — is somehow in a position to authoritatively speak about what’s best for Black women. As Cruz angrily ranted:
‘The fact that [Biden is] willing to make a promise at the outset that it must be a Black woman — I gotta say, that’s offensive. Black women are, what, 6 percent of the U.S. population? He’s saying to 94 percent of Americans, “I don’t give a damn about you. You are ineligible.”.. It’s actually an insult to Black women. If he came and said, “I’m gonna put the best jurist on the court,” and he looked at a number of people, and he ended up nominating a Black woman, he could credibly say, “Okay, I’m nominating the person who’s most qualified.” He’s not even pretending to say that. He’s saying, if you’re a white guy, tough luck. If you’re a white woman, tough luck — you don’t qualify.’
Watch Cruz’s comments below:
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) calls Biden’s commitment to picking a Black woman for the Supreme Court “offensive” and “an insult to Black women.”
“Black women are, what, 6% of the U.S. population? He’s saying to 94% of Americans, ‘I don’t give a damn about you.’” pic.twitter.com/SbBfxcaIBN
— The Recount (@therecount) January 31, 2022
Cruz isn’t the first Republican Senator to complain about Biden’s choice to nominate a Black woman to replace Breyer. Recently, Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) 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” — although, again, it’s not about fulfilling an arbitrary quota. It’s about fixing an obvious problem with representation in government. As White House spokesperson Andrew Bates put it in response, “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… 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.” And Biden isn’t the first president to make a pledge about how they’d fill a Supreme Court vacancy — both Reagan and Trump promised to nominate women for certain seats.
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
