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Incumbent Tenure
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With the advice and consent of the United States Senate, the president of the United States appoints the members of the Supreme Court of the United States, which is the highest court of the federal judiciary of the United States. Following his victory in the 2020 presidential election, Democrat Joe Biden took office as president on January 20, 2021. During the 2020 Democratic primary campaign, Biden pledged to appoint a Black woman to the Supreme Court,[1][2][3] although unlike his opponent, Donald Trump, Biden did not release a specific list of potential nominees during the 2020 general election campaign.[4]
In February 2022, Biden selected Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to replace Justice Stephen Breyer, who retired at the end of the court's 2022 term.[5][6][7]
Name | Appointed | Appointed by | Law school (JD or LLB) |
---|---|---|---|
John Roberts (Chief Justice) |
2005 | George W. Bush | Harvard University |
Clarence Thomas | 1991 | George H. W. Bush | Yale University |
Samuel Alito | 2006 | George W. Bush | Yale University |
Sonia Sotomayor | 2009 | Barack Obama | Yale University |
Elena Kagan | 2010 | Harvard University | |
Neil Gorsuch | 2017 | Donald Trump | Harvard University |
Brett Kavanaugh | 2018 | Yale University | |
Amy Coney Barrett | 2020 | University of Notre Dame | |
Ketanji Brown Jackson | 2022 | Joe Biden | Harvard University |
Main article: Ketanji Brown Jackson Supreme Court nomination |
On January 26, 2022, it was reported that Justice Stephen Breyer planned to step down at the end of the court's current term, giving Biden his first opportunity to name a justice to the court.[8] On January 27, Biden reiterated his intention to keep his campaign promise to nominate a Black woman.[9] On February 22, it was reported that Biden had met with his top three contenders, Ketanji Brown Jackson, J. Michelle Childs and Leondra Kruger.[10][11] On February 25, it was announced that Biden would nominate Judge Jackson.[12][6][13][14] On April 7, 2022, Jackson was confirmed by a vote of 53–47.[15] She was then sworn in on June 30, 2022, at noon, when Breyer's retirement went into effect.[16][17][18][19]
Following is a list of individuals who have been mentioned in various news accounts as possible nominees for a Supreme Court appointment under Biden:
Note: Individuals marked with an asterisk would fulfill Biden's commitment that his first nominee be a Black woman.[9]
Bolded individuals have been selected by Biden for the Supreme Court.