Sen. Dick Durbin Bizarrely Describes Biden’s Court Picks as ‘Controversial’ Because They’re ‘Assertive Women of Color’

Sarah RumpfJan 31st, 2022, 6:27 pm
 
dick durbin joe biden chuck schumer patty murray

Photo by T.J. Kirkpatrick/Getty Images.

President Joe Biden will be meeting with members of the Senate Judiciary Committee as he makes his decision about his first nomination to the Supreme Court, but on Monday afternoon one of the Democratic leaders on that committee made eyebrow-raising comments about the president’s past nominees.

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer confirmed last week that he planned to retire from the nation’s highest court, and Biden has reaffirmed his campaign promise to appoint a Black woman to the seat.

U.S. District Judge J. Michelle Childs of South Carolina has already been confirmed by the White House as on Biden’s short list, and U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson and California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger are also rumored to be under consideration. Childs got a thumbs up from a Republican, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who told CBS’ Margaret Brennan this weekend that Childs was “incredibly qualified,” “fair-minded,” and “one of the most decent people I’ve ever met” — although he stopped just short of committing to vote to confirm her.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Monday that Biden would be inviting Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), the ranking Republican and Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, to the White House to consult with them about his choice.

Huffington Post senior politics reporter Jennifer Bendery spoke to Durbin about the SCOTUS nomination process and asked him if he thought it would be harder for Republicans to oppose Biden’s nominee as a Black woman, and she tweeted that Durbin replied that some of Biden’s other judicial nominations had been “more controversial than I anticipated.”

“Is there a theme to them?” Bendery asked the senator.

“Assertive women of color,” Durbin reportedly replied.

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Sarah Rumpf - Contributing Editor

Sarah Rumpf joined Mediaite in 2020 and is a Contributing Editor focusing on politics, law, and the media. A native Floridian, Sarah attended the University of Florida, graduating with a double major in Political Science and German, and earned her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the UF College of Law. Sarah's writing has been featured at National Review, The Daily Beast, Reason, Law&Crime, Independent Journal Review, Texas Monthly, The Capitolist, Breitbart Texas, Townhall, RedState, The Orlando Sentinel, and the Austin-American Statesman, and her political commentary has led to appearances on television, radio, and podcast programs across the globe. Follow Sarah on Threads, Twitter, and Bluesky.