Sen. Collins Slams Biden For ‘Politicizing Entire Nomination Process’ With Race, Gender-Based Supreme Court Pledge

You know it’s bad when Biden’s lost the RINOs…

On Sunday, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) slammed President Biden for his “clumsy” approach to a race-based nomination for the next supreme court justice in the wake of Stephen Breyer’s retirement.

Biden, fulfilling a campaign pledge, said that he would only nominate a black female to the role.

“I welcome the appointment of black females to the court and believe that diversity benefits the Supreme Court, but the way that the President has handled this nomination has been clumsy at best,” she said, adding: “It adds to the further perception that the court is a political institution like Congress when it’s not supposed to be.”

Sen. Susan Collins tells @GStephanopoulos that she would welcome the appointment of a Black female justice.

“I believe that diversity benefits the Supreme Court. But the way that the president has handled this nomination has been clumsy at best.” https://t.co/nk171LB81U pic.twitter.com/qX2V8nztTX

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) January 30, 2022

When “This Week” moderator George Stephanopoulos asked how Biden handled the nomination differently than his predecessors – namely Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump, who said while in office that they intended to nominate a woman to the bench, Collins said “This isn’t exactly the same,” as Biden made the promise while on the campaign trail.

Susan Collins says she’s more concerned about Biden announcing he’ll pick a Black woman than Trump announcing he’d pick a woman because Biden made his announcement when he was a candidate & therefore politicized the process. (Remember Trump’s ACB superspreader event at the WH?) pic.twitter.com/dcCGolAbhx

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 30, 2022

That said, Collins also noted that she’s open to whoever the nominee is, and appreciates that Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin will grant her an interview with them.

Democrats will be able to confirm Biden’s nominee if all 50 Democratic Senators vote for them, or if enough Republicans cross the aisle in the event that some Democrats aren’t on board.

One potential nominee which Collins voted for last year is Circuit Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, 51, who Durbin declined to characterize as the front-runner on NBC‘s “Meet the Press,” but noted that youth will play into the nomination in order to find a judge who will be able to serve a lengthy term, according to the Boston Globe.

Meanwhile, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) signaled support for J. Michelle Childs, a black US District Court judge from his state, who he called “highly qualified” and “an awesome person.”

Graham doesn’t think a racial quota for the Supreme court is a problem.

“Put me in the camp of making sure the court and other institutions look like America,” Graham told “Face the Nation” on Sunday, adding “I don’t see Michelle Childs as an act of affirmative action. I do see putting a black woman on the court making the court more like America.”