Ayanna Pressley To Joe Biden: Put A Black Woman On U.S. Supreme Court

Printed from: https://newbostonpost.com/2022/01/26/ayanna-pressley-to-joe-biden-put-a-black-woman-on-u-s-supreme-court/

Stephen Breyer will soon no longer be a member of the U.S. Supreme Court — and U.S. Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-Hyde Park) wants his replacement to be a black woman.

Breyer, who is a part of the liberal wing of the court, plans to retire at the end of the current Supreme Court term; it’s expected to end in either June or July this year. The 83-year-old has served since 1994, after being appointed by then-President Bill Clinton.

Breyer’s retirement sets up an opportunity for President Joe Biden to appoint his replacement — though he has a slim 50-50 Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate that depends on the vice president, Kamala Harris. 

In response to the news of Breyer’s retirement, Pressley, who is black, called on the sitting president to keep one of his campaign promises:  to put a black woman on the Supreme Court.

“. @POTUS , it’s time for a Black woman on the Supreme Court,” she tweeted on Wednesday afternoon.

Pressley cannot vote on Supreme Court justices because she is a member of the U.S. House of Representatives; only the Senate votes to confirm Supreme Court nominees.

Biden initially promised to nominate a black woman to the Supreme Court in February 2020 — during the Democratic presidential primary.

“As president, I’d be honored, honored to appoint the first African-American woman. Because it should look like the country. It’s long past time,” he said, according to The Associated Press.

Two black men have served on the Supreme Court:  liberal Thurgood Marshall (1967 to 1991) and his conservative successor Clarence Thomas (1991 to present).

If Biden were to replace Breyer, it would not change the partisan composition of the court. There would still be six Republican-appointed justices and three Democratic-appointed justices on the court. However, it would give the liberal wing a younger justice who could stay on the court for decades.

Pressley’s office could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.

 

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