White House unveils team for SCOTUS pick

The White House unveiled its team to help with the confirmation process for President Biden’s eventual nominee for the Supreme Court, with former Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.) leading it as nomination adviser, along with two veteran Democratic communicators. 

Minyon Moore, who served as director of White House political affairs for former President Clinton, and Ben LaBolt, who served as campaign and White House spokesman for former President Obama, will also be on the team.

Moore will be nomination adviser for engagement, responsible for building support with outside groups, and LaBolt will be nomination adviser for communications.

The team of White House officials advising Biden on his selection includes Vice President Harris, White House chief of staff Ron Klain, Director of Legislative Affairs Louisa Terrell, White House senior adviser Cedric Richmond, and Paige Herwig, a lawyer in the counsel’s office who works on judicial nominations.

Biden has not yet named his pick to replace Justice Stephen Breyer, who announced his retirement from the high court on Thursday and is expected to retire over the summer. The president has promised to nominate the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court.

U.S. District Judge J. Michelle Childs is the only person the White House has publicly said to be in the running for a nomination to Breyer’s seat. Other names floated have included Ketanji Brown Jackson, who is on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger.

Jones, who will be the so-called sherpa for the eventual nominee, lost his reelection bid in 2020 and was on the short list for attorney general before Biden named Merrick Garland to the post.

Jones joined law and lobbying firm Arent Fox in May as counsel in the firm’s government relations, government enforcement and white collar groups. He is also a political commentator for CNN and was a fellow at the Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service. 

In 2017, Jones won a special election to replace former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who resigned from the Senate to serve in the Trump administration. Jones lost his reelection to Republican Tommy Tuberville. 

The former senator was nominated by President Clinton in 1997 to serve as U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, during which he famously prosecuted and won the conviction of two Ku Klux Klan members for the deadly 1963 Birmingham church bombing. He formed the Birmingham firm Jones & Hawley PC in 2013. 

Moore is currently a principal at public affairs firm Dewey Square Group and is the former chief operating officer of the Democratic National Committee. She was an adviser on Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign and co-authored “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Politics” in 2018.  

LaBolt served as the White House spokesman on the team to confirm Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan during the Obama administration. He is a partner at public affairs firm Bully Pulpit Interactive and worked as communications director for Rahm Emanuel when he was mayor of Chicago.

“One the things I’m proudest of is serving on the confirmation teams for Justices Sotomayor and Kagan. Grateful to be able to join immensely talented colleagues to suit up again (literally), advise on comms and ensure that @POTUS’ nominee is considered and confirmed expeditiously,” LaBolt said on Twitter on Wednesday after the announcement.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Tuesday said the White House intended to have a team in place before Biden makes a nominee selection. She also pointed to the historic nature of using a team to sherpa through a nominee. 

Morgan Chalfant contributed to this report.