White House confirms Judge J. Michelle Childs under consideration for Supreme Court

The White House confirmed to The Washington Post on Friday that J. Michelle Childs, a federal district judge in South Carolina, is one of several candidates whom the president is considering to be his nominee to the Supreme Court.

The South Carolina judge is “among multiple individuals under consideration for the Supreme Court,” White House spokesperson Andrew Bates told the newspaper.

However, he also pushed back at news reports that suggested the president was only considering three potential picks, which have often mentioned Childs, Ketanji Brown Jackson from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and California Supreme Court Judge Leondra Kruger. 

“And we are not going to move her nomination on the Court of Appeals while the President is considering her for this vacancy,” Bates told The Post, referring to her nomination last month by Biden to serve on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. “At the same time, reporting indicating that the President is only seriously considering three potential nominees is incorrect.”

The newspaper noted it is the first time that a name of a possible contender for the Supreme Court nomination has been confirmed by the White House. The development comes as Justice Stephen Breyer announced this week he would be stepping down following the high court’s current term.

Biden reiterated his plan to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court during remarks on Thursday.

“I’ve made no decision except one: The person I will nominate will be someone with extraordinary qualifications, character experience and integrity,” the president said. “And that person will be the first Black woman ever nominated to the United States Supreme Court. It’s long overdue in my view. I made that commitment during my campaign for president, and I will keep that commitment.”

Childs has received support from House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.), and he told CNN in an interview on Wednesday that he believed “several Republicans,” including Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.), would support her if she were chosen.

The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.