Biden to meet with Senate Judiciary Democrats on Supreme Court vacancy

President Biden plans to host Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee at the White House on Thursday to discuss the impending Supreme Court vacancy, a White House official confirmed.

Biden has committed to seeking advice from Democrats and Republicans on filling the vacancy that will be created by Justice Stephen Breyer, who last month announced plans to retire at the end of the court’s current term.

Biden already met with Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Chuck Grassley (Iowa), the committee’s top Republican, last week in the Oval Office. He also spoke by phone with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) about the process.

The White House official said that Biden has “continued his conversations with Republicans this week,” without specifying lawmakers the president has been in touch with.

The White House has kept much of the process under wraps, declining to name a list or precise number of the candidates that Biden is considering as he searches for a nominee.

The White House official said Wednesday that Biden is “considering a wealth of candidates, all of whom possess the best qualifications that any person could — first-rate legal minds, strong credentials, records, and character.”  

Biden has committed to nominating a Black woman for the bench. He is believed to be considering a number of candidates, including Ketanji Brown Jackson, a federal appeals court judge in Washington, D.C.; J. Michelle Childs, a federal district court judge in South Carolina and California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger.  

Biden is also scheduled to travel to Virginia on Thursday and it’s unclear precisely when his meeting with lawmakers will take place.

The Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee are Sens. Durbin, Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.), Chris Coons (Del.), Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), Amy Klobuchar (Minn.), Richard Blumenthal (Conn.), Cory Booker (N.J.), Mazie Hirono (Hawaii), Alex Padilla (Calif.), and Jon Ossoff (Ga.). 

In addition to seeking advice from Vice President Harris, other White House advisers and members of Congress, Biden is also soliciting input from outside legal experts, the White House said.