Ambika Bhardwaj
Published On: December 24, 2021 at 12:55 IST
President Joe Biden appointed two new Federal Appeals Court Judges, along with a South Carolina Judge considered by some to be a U.S. Supreme Court contender. Biden appointed J. Michelle Childs, a U.S. District Judge in South Carolina, to the impactful U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
She would succeed U.S. Circuit Judge David Tatel, who declared his intention to take senior status, a type of semi-retirement for Judges, in February. Biden also appointed Nancy Abudu, a Voting Rights Advocate and Deputy Legal Director at the Southern Poverty Law Center, to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.
Childs’ appointment was applauded by U.S. Representative James Clyburn, the majority whip and third-ranking Democrat in the House, who has urged Biden to consider the Black, female Judge if a Supreme Court vacancy arises.
Childs is Biden’s second nomination to the D.C. Circuit, which has previously served as a stepping stone to the Supreme Court, along with current Justices John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, and Brett Kavanaugh.
Ketanji Brown Jackson, his first nominee, was approved by the Senate in May. Jackson, 51, is also Black and is being considered as a potential Supreme Court nominee if 83-year-old liberal Justice Stephen Breyer retires.
All through his election campaign, the Democratic president promised to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court if he was given the opportunity to fill a vacancy, which is a landmark first.