Graham: Nominating a Black woman to the Supreme Court wouldn’t be affirmative action

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Sunday pushed back against the notion that President Biden’s vow to nominate a Black woman the Supreme Court was akin to “affirmative action,” saying he was in support of making U.S. institutions “look like America.”

“Put me in the camp of making sure the court and other institutions look like America. You know, we make a real effort as Republicans to recruit women and people of color to make the party look more like America. Affirmative action is picking somebody not as well qualified for past wrongs,” Graham said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

Graham’s remarks come after Mississippi Republican Sen. Roger Wicker said in an interview last week that any Black female candidate Biden nominates to the court to replace the retiring Justice Stephen Breyer would be a “beneficiary” of affirmative action. 

During his interview on Sunday, Graham gave a glowing endorsement of J. Michelle Childs, a federal district judge in South Carolina, to be considered for the Supreme Court, saying he couldn’t think of a better person for Biden to consider. The White House has confirmed that Childs is under consideration.

“Michelle Childs is incredibly qualified. There’s no affirmative action component if you pick her. She is highly qualified,” Graham said.

“In the history of our country, we’ve only had five women serve and two African American men,” he added. “So let’s make the court more like America, but qualifications have to be the biggest consideration.”

–Updated on Jan. 31 at 7:21 a.m.