Historic significance of Biden’s SCOTUS nominee, possible picks

President Joe Biden affirmed he will nominate a Black woman for the Supreme Court of the United States.

The president called it “long overdue” during a joint speech with soon-to-be-retired Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.

Biden also taking time to honor Justice Breyer’s decades of service.

“I think he’s a model public servant,” Biden said.

Breyer officially announced his retirement from the country’s highest court with a letter to the president. After nearly three decades as a Supreme Court Justice, Thursday, Justice Breyer called on the younger generation to take over the “Great American experiment,” and to uphold the constitution.

“They’ll determine whether the experiment still works,” Breyer said of the youth of the nation. “And of course, I am an optimist, and I’m pretty sure it will.”

While Biden hasn’t given a name for his nominee, he said Thursday they will be “worthy of Justice Breyer’s legacy of excellence and decency.”

The president also made it clear it will be historic.

“That person will be the first Black woman ever nominated to the United States Supreme Court,” President Biden said about his future nominee. “It’s long overdue in my opinion — I made that commitment during the campaign for president and I will keep that commitment.”

The current president of the Minneapolis city council, Andrea Jenkins, made history herself in 2017 as the first African American openly trans woman to be elected to office in the United States.

“I pinch myself every day,” Jenkins said about her political career thus far.

Jenkins feels if Biden holds true to his promise and a Black woman is seated on the Supreme Court, it will have a significant impact for not only Black women but for all women, of any age, for decades to come.

“This is going to provide a voice for the significant challenges, but also the significant contributions, that Black women have made to this country,” Jenkins added.

If Biden gets his selection on the bench, there’s even more significance to the nominee, according to political science professor at Hamline University, David Schultz.

“This appointment could have a tremendous impact on the future of reproductive rights,” Schultz said about the high court’s possible decision on whether to overturn Roe v. Wade.

As for who the nominee will be, Schultz says the front runner is 51-year-old Judge Ketanji Jackson — she was confirmed to the D.C. Court of Appeals last year, with Republican support.

Schultz also said he wouldn’t be surprised if the current U.S. District Judge for Minnesota, Judge Wilhelmina Wright, is being considered — she was nominated to the federal court by President Barack Obama.