Biden nominates South Carolina judge to powerful DC Circuit

President Biden announced his 12th round of judicial nominees on Thursday, including naming U.S. District Judge J. Michelle Childs as his latest pick for the powerful D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.

If confirmed, Childs, who currently sits on the federal district court for South Carolina, would join a court considered to be the second most important in the country and a launching pad for Supreme Court justices.

The New York Times reported in February that Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), the House Majority Whip, has been lobbying the White House to make Childs its first Supreme Court nomination, should a vacancy open up while Biden is in office.

If Childs’ circuit nomination is approved by the Senate, it would likely put her in contention for any future Supreme Court vacancies given Clyburn’s reported lobbying on her behalf.

“I’m pleased @POTUS has chosen to nominate Judge J. Michelle Childs to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit,” Clyburn said in a tweet Thursday afternoon. “She’s served with distinction on the U.S. District Court in SC, and I believe her background and experiences make her well suited for this position.”

Biden also announced Thursday his nomination of Nancy Gbana Abudu, an attorney with the Southern Poverty Law Center, to sit on the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. If confirmed, Abudu would be the first Black woman judge in that court.

Childs was appointed by former President Obama to the South Carolina federal district court in 2010. Before that, she served as a state trial court judge and as an official at the state’s labor department and its workers’ compensation commission.

Prior to entering public service, Childs was a partner at the firm Nexsen Pruett, where one of her focuses was employment law. According to the firm’s website, its employment law practice “represents management in both union and non-union environments.”