Cruz: Biden commitment to nominate first Black woman to Supreme Court ‘offensive’

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) this week slammed President Biden’s vow to nominate the first Black woman to the Supreme Court, dubbing it “offensive.”

Cruz made his comments in an episode of his podcast “Verdict,” arguing that Biden is sending the message to other Americans that “you are ineligible.”

“The fact that he’s willing to make a promise at the outset, that it must be a Black woman, I gotta say that’s offensive. You know, you know Black women are what, 6 percent of the U.S. population? He’s saying to 94 percent of Americans, ‘I don’t give a damn about you, you are ineligible,’ ” Cruz said.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Black women made up 7 percent of the U.S. population in 2019.

“And he’s also saying — it’s actually an insult to Black women,” Cruz added. “If he came and said, ‘I’m gonna put the best jurist on the court’ and he looked at a number of people and he ended up nominating a Black woman, he could credibly say, ‘OK, I’m nominating the person who’s most qualified.’ He’s not even pretending to say that. He’s saying, ‘If you’re a white guy, tough luck. If you’re a white woman, tough luck. You don’t qualify.'”

The Hill has reached out to Cruz’s office for comment.

Following the announcement of Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement last week, Biden said he planned to nominate a Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court as his replacement, reaffirming a campaign pledge.

“I’ve made no decision except one: The person I will nominate will be someone with extraordinary qualifications, character experience and integrity,” Biden said at the time. “And that person will be the first Black woman ever nominated to the United States Supreme Court. It’s long overdue in my view. I made that commitment during my campaign for president, and I will keep that commitment.”