Impatient Reporters Grill WH Spox on Supreme Court Pick: Don’t Americans ‘Deserve To Know What The President Is Doing?’
Principal Deputy White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre faced grilling from reporters growing impatient with the lack of news about President Joe Biden’s search for a Supreme Court nominee.
Ms. Jeann-Pierre briefed reporters aboard Air Force One Thursday, and amid the barrage of questions about the roiling Russia/Ukrain situation was an exchange that demonstrated frustration with the pace of President Biden’s nominating process, and the White House’s caginess about it:
Q Karine, has the President interviewed any potential Supreme Court nominees? And where is he right now in this process of evaluating potential picks?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, as you know, the President has had — he’s had a series of discussions with lawmakers from both sides of the aisle. You know, he continues to review materials as he considers deeply qualified candidates, as you’ve heard us say — immensely qualified candidate with strong experience, character, integrity, dedication to the Constitution and the rule of law.
Potentially, you know, he could begin talking to — interviewing nominees as soon as this week, but I don’t have any specifics to share. The thing that I can confirm is that — and as you’ve heard me say before and as you’ve heard Jen say before — is that we are going — he is going to have a selection by the end of this month.
Q Sorry, I couldn’t hear. You said “he could begin” —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So he could begin interviewing potential nominees as soon as this week, but I do not have any — anything to provide.
Q Today is Thursday.
Q (Inaudible.)
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Good — good point. Good point.
Q Does that mean that he has not — does that mean that he has not done an interview yet?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I — I just don’t have anything to confirm for you right now.
Q On Monday, you were able to tell us that he hadn’t interviewed anyone then.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Because you had asked over the weekend and what he was doing that weekend. And I was able to — I —
Q So, he’s just not been working for four days? Like, what’s going on? (Laughter.)
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I just don’t have anything to share or to confirm or not confirm on this. This is something — again, he’s reviewing materials —
Q Don’t the American people deserve to know what the President is doing?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, I think — I think the President — they’ll know when he makes his selection and how he came to that process once he has selected that person.
As you know, this is something that the President knows how this goes, as being the Chair of the Judiciary Committee for many years, having to — having oversaw — overseen many Supreme Court nomination hearings. He knows how this process works — being the Vice President. So this is nothing new to him.
But he wants to make sure — again, this is a rigorous process. He wants to make sure that this important life- — lifetime commitment is done in a way that’s, again, rigorous and has — and lands with the most qualified — he picks the most qualified person to have (inaudible).
It has been 22 days since Justice Stephen Breyer announced his retirement, and President Biden announced he would select a Black woman to fill the vacant seat.
Listen above via The White House,
