Justice Stephen Breyer reportedly plans to step down from the U.S. Supreme Court at the end of his term in 6 months.
Breyer’s announcement gives Pres. Joe Biden time to find his replacement — reportedly a liberal Black lesbian or transgender judge.
Breyer is the court’s oldest Justice at 83. His retirement pleases Democrats who believe the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg stayed too long and deprived the Democrats of appointing another liberal to the highest court.
The frontrunner on Biden’s short list is D.C. District Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, a Black female judge from Florida.
Brown Jackson was nominated to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by former President Barack Obama in 2013.
Jackson is married to Dr. Patrick Graves Jackson, the chief general surgeon at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. They have 2 children.
Biden is also reportedly considering Vice President Kamala Harris, 57, to replace Breyer on the Supreme Court.
Other potential Black or brown female nominees include 7th Circuit Appeals Judge Candace Jackson-Akiwumi, 42 (pictured).
The list continues below:
- California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger, 45
- S.C. US District Court Judge J. Michelle Childs, 55
- District Judge Wilhelmina “Mimi” Wright, 58
- Circuit Judge Eunice Lee, 51
- Sherrilyn Ifill, 59
