“I can’t think of a better person for President Biden to consider for the Supreme Court than Michelle Childs. She has wide support in our state, is considered a very talented and impartial jurist. She is one of the most decent.” people I’ve met,” Graham, who represents South Carolina and sits on the Judiciary Committee, said in an interview on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday.
“She’s highly rated. She’s a good character and we’ll see how she does if she gets nominated. But I can’t say anything bad about Michelle Childs. She’s an amazing person,” Graham continued.
The White House confirmed that Childs was among the candidates President Joe Biden is considering to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created when Justice Stephen Breyer announced his retirement on Thursday. Childs was initially nominated to serve on the Court of Appeals, but her nomination was delayed because Biden is considering her for the Supreme Court.
House Majority Whip James Clyburn also advocated for Childs in an interview on CBS on Sunday. CNN previously reported that Clyburn, who represents South Carolina’s 6th district, personally lobbied Biden for Childs to be nominated to the Supreme Court.
Clyburn said that seeing a black woman in high court would show children “growing up in moderate circumstances” that they “have just as much chance” to succeed as anyone else. He alluded to Childs’ public education at the University of South Carolina School of Law, in contrast to most Ivy League-educated judges who have historically served on the court.
“What this says to all the little kids who are growing up in modest circumstances, who need the help of the whole community to raise them, who get scholarships to go to school because they can’t afford it, or who go to public schools because they don’t have getting an offer from one of the great private schools tells them that they have just as much chance to benefit from the greatness of this country as anyone else,” Clyburn said.
“President Reagan said when he ran for office that he wanted to put the first woman on the court. Like it or not, Joe Biden said, ‘I’m going to pick an African-American woman to serve on the Supreme Court.'” Graham said. When asked about Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker’s comment that the candidate would be the “beneficiary” of affirmative action, Graham said that would not be the case with Childs.
“I think there are a lot of qualified black women, conservative and liberal, who could go on the court. So I don’t see Michelle Childs as an act of affirmative action. I see putting a black woman on the court, making the court feel look more like America,” Graham said. “So let’s make the court more like America, but qualifications have to be the most important consideration, and as for Michelle Childs, I think she’s qualified in every way.”
www.cnn.com
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism