U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is criticizing President Joe Biden’s promise to nominate a black woman to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“He’s saying, ‘If you’re a white guy, tough luck,” Cruz said, Business Insider reported. “If you’re a white woman, tough luck. You don’t qualify.'”
Biden originally made the promise during the 2020 presidential campaign, Business Insider reported. It resurfaced after news broke recently of Associate Justice Stephen Breyer’s plans to retire this summer, the story said.
“While I’ve been studying candidates’ backgrounds and writings, I’ve made no decision except one: The person I will nominate will be someone with extraordinary qualifications, character, experience and integrity, and that person will be the first black woman ever nominated to the United States Supreme Court,” Biden said, Business Insider reported. “It’s long overdue, in my opinion.”
Other Republican senators agree with Cruz’s criticism of Biden’s vow.
The nominee would be a “beneficiary” of affirmative action, Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi said, according to the story.
However, another Republican senator, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, praised one of Biden’s possible picks, J. Michelle Childs, a federal district judge in South Carolina.
“Michelle Childs is incredibly qualified,” Graham said. “There’s no affirmative-action component if you pick her. 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. She’s considered to be a fair-minded, highly gifted jurist. She’s one of the most decent people I’ve ever met.”
