Psaki says Biden will stand by pledge to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court

(Getty Images)

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said President Joe Biden will fulfill his campaign pledge to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court amid reports that Justice Stephen Breyer will retire.

Mr Biden would not comment earlier on Wednesday since Mr Breyer had not formally announced. But Mr Biden had pledged to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court during the Democratic primary in 2020.

When asked hypothetically by a reporter about whether he would still nominate a Black woman, Ms Psaki repeated the pledge without getting ahead of Mr Breyer’s announcement.

“The president has stated and reiterated his commitment to nominating a Black woman to the Supreme Court and stands by that,” she said. “For today, again, I’m just not going to be able to say anything about any specifics until, of course, Justice Breyer makes any announcements should he decide to make an announcement.”

Mr Breyer is reportedly planning to announce his retirement after serving on the court since 1994. He is one of the court’s three liberals alongside Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.

Mr Biden pledged to nominate a Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court, which was reportedly what clinched the support of House Majority Whip James Clyburn ahead of the South Carolina primary.

My Biden’s numbers with Black voters have made a precipitous drop since he took office. A Quinnipiac University poll showed that only 57 percent of Black voters approve of the job he is doing, which is down from 78 percent in April.