Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) on Wednesday said he will not rubber-stamp President Joe Biden’s Supreme Court nominee to replace Justice Stephen Breyer.
“I take my Constitutional responsibility to advise and consent on a nominee to the Supreme Court very seriously,” Manchin said. “I look forward to meeting with and evaluating the qualifications of President Biden’s nominee to fill this Supreme Court vacancy.”
Manchin’s statement follows White House press secretary Jen Psaki’s confirmation Biden intends to nominate a black woman to the court.
In 2020, Biden foreshadowed he would do so. “I’m looking forward to making sure there’s a black woman on the Supreme Court, to make sure we, in fact, get every representation,” he said.
The appointment of a black woman would potentially make it troublesome for establishment Senate Republicans to block Biden’s nominee in an election year. Democrats hold a 50/50 split tie-breaking vote in the Democrat-controlled Senate.
Biden’s nominee will need to appease all 50 Democrat Senators, including Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ).
Both Manchin and Sinema have proven a willingness to oppose Biden’s radical “Build Back Better” agenda. Manchin’s home state of West Virginia voted for Donald Trump in 2020 by nearly 40 points.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Wednesday announced he would confirm Biden’s nominee promptly but deliberately.
The Senate’s Judiciary Committee, chaired by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), will conduct Senate hearings in the coming weeks.
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