Kamala Harris to help Biden pick new Supreme Court judge

History making Indian American VP to help Biden pick the first ever Black woman nominee to the US Supreme Court

Kamala Harris, a historic figure in her own right, has been tasked by President Joe Biden to help him make another historic choice — the first Black woman ever nominated to the US Supreme Court.

Biden, who made a historic choice in picking up Harris, the daughter of an Indian mother and a Jamaican father as his running mate in the 2016 presidential election, affirmed Thursday he would turn to Harris to help him make another historic move.

“While I’ve been studying candidates’ backgrounds and writings, I’ve made no decisions except one,” he said at a white House event Thursday with liberal Justice Stephen Breyer, 83, by his side, whose decision to retire gives him an opportunity to fulfill another campaign promise.

Read: Harris will be Biden’s running mate if he runs again: White House (December 17, 2021)

“That person will be the first Black woman ever nominated to the United States Supreme Court,” said Biden. “It’s long overdue, in my view. I made that commitment during the campaign for President, and I will keep that commitment.”

The President said he was going to invite senators from both parties to offer their ideas and points of view and also consult with leading scholars and lawyers.

“And I am fortunate to have advising me in this selection process Vice President Kamala Harris,” he said. “She’s an exceptional lawyer, a former Attorney General of the State of California, a former member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.”

“In the end, I will nominate a historic candidate, someone who is worthy of Justice Breyer’s legacy,” Biden said and ask the Senate to confirm her quickly.

Harris herself confirmed that she will help Biden chose Breyer’s successor, telling reporters during a visit to Honduras “ the President and I will work closely together on this and the selection process.

“ And I’ll (inaudible) the President will make his choice about who will be the next person to fill Justice Breyer’s seat,” she said.

Read: Kamala Harris to lead Biden administration’s efforts on voting rights (June 2, 2021)

When told that Biden said “in particular, you’re going to help advise him on that, Harris gave a one word answer,” Yes.”

Harris is expected to lean towards a candidate in the mould of her hero Constance Baker Motley, the first Black female federal judge in US history.

Motley she says “inspired me from a young age to fight for the voiceless and for justice” starting with her work in the landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education case.

The US Supreme Court’s ruling that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal” led to dismantling of segregated education and allowed little Kamala, a minority immigrant child to attend a mixed school in California.

Harris will not only help Biden pick up a nominee, but she will also need to shepherd her through a confirmation process in the evenly divided Senate, where she has a casting vote in the event of a tie.

Read: Kamala Harris will play a key role in helping Biden choose Supreme Court pick (January 28, 2022)

Three top names doing the rounds are California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger, DC Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson and US District Court Judge J.Michelle Childs from South Carolina.

But no matter who is confirmed, Democrats won’t be able to offset the apex court’s 6-3 conservative tilt thanks to three relatively young Republican nominees — Neil Gorsuch, 55, Brett Kavanagh, 57, and Amy Coney Barrett, 50 — being confirmed during the Trump presidency.