While President Joe Biden is considering several top Supreme Court nominees, Senator Joe Manchin (D.West Virginia) is reportedly telling his colleagues that he prefers a GOP supported candidate. Unions and prolabor advocates have raised concerns about her history of supporting corporations against workers. Punchbowl News has reported.
According to PunchbowlMultiple anonymous sources claim that Manchin wants J. Michelle Childs on the Supreme Court, despite the fact that nominees for the Supreme Court need only 51 votes to pass. She also mentions her public school education to be a plus.
Childs does indeed have support from conservatives. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, expressed support for the District Court judge. He predicted that she would win more than 10 Republican Senate votes. Manchin’s vote is crucial for Democrats if Biden picks a different nominee, however, as Democrats will need every senator in their caucus to vote “yes.”
But labor groupsChilds’ past as a woman have been cited as a reason for concern. a management-side lawyerwho worked for corporations in cases involving racial discrimination or union drives. The groups noted that not all potential picks have done this.
“She comes from an anti-union law firm where she spent time defending employers from claims of civil rights and labor law violations,” David Borer, general counsel of the American Federation of Government Employees, told The Washington Post earlier this month. “That’s not what we need.”
Progressives also take issue with Childs’s history as a judge in the criminal legal system. As a judge The American ProspectChilds has reported that he has issued numerous harsh rulings against incarcerated people that were later overturned. Childs In 2009 sentenced a manYou could be sentenced to up to 12 years imprisonment for selling half a pound or less of marijuana.
“Judge Childs’s repeated opposition to leniency in sentencing and alleged abuse cases brought by prisoners is notable in its own right,” wrote The American Prospect’s Alexander Sammon. “That she made those decisions on such dubious grounds that they were routinely overturned by higher courts indicates a commitment to tough-on-crime rulings beyond the letter of procedure.”
This Supreme Court choice is critical for Democrats. progressives say should take full advantageThe Democratic justice Stephen Breyer left the seat. A strong progressive pick will fill it. Childs’ support by Republicans has been a catalyst for his election. some progressives to believeCorporate donors might be able to support Childs.
Picking someone who appeals to Republicans would be antithetical to the goal of balancing out the Supreme Court – especially since conservatives have spent years bending and changing the rules to pack the court with extremist right-wing justices, and as the Court is on the precipice of crucial decisions on issues like abortion.
This was earlier in the month A group of Black women in The HouseI wrote to Biden to applaud him for his promise to choose a Black woman to fill that seat. Also, I urged him to choose a civil rights champion. Biden’s pick would be the first Black woman to ever sit on the High Court.
“There is no shortage of incredible, qualified, leading Black female candidates to serve on the Supreme Court,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) said in an interview. “But the question is, what is going to be that nominee’s worldview?”
While Ocasio-Cortez hasn’t specifically advocated against any candidates, she says that the candidate’s stances on issues like Citizens United are crucial.
Progressive groups like Justice Democrats have said That someone like Ketanji Brown JacksonA suitable choice would be a candidate for the Supreme Court seat.
