Murkowski calls on Biden not to pick ‘furthest left’ Supreme Court nominee

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) on Sunday called on President Biden to not select a Supreme Court nominee who is “to the furthest left,” instead urging the president to choose someone “who will enjoy some level of bipartisan support.”

“There are many, many exceptionally well-qualified African-American women who could — who could move forward into this position,” Murkowski told co-anchor Jake Tapper on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

“So, Mr. President, I’m asking you to look through those critically, and not pick the one that would be to the furthest left, but to pick that one, that individual, who will enjoy some level of bipartisan support,” she added.

She said such a move by Biden “sends a signal to the public that maybe, maybe the courts are not as political as the legislative and the executive branch,” noting that some in the U.S. are “losing faith in their courts.”

“So, demonstrate, demonstrate some bipartisan support,” she emphasized.

“I want to make sure that the President nominates an exceptional candidate… and I would be honored to be able to support an exceptional African American woman,” says GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski on contenders for Pres. Biden’s Supreme Court nominee. #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/VcxyCASCJM

— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) February 6, 2022

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer announced last month that he will retire at the end of this term, handing Biden his first Supreme Court pick. While the nomination will not affect the 6 to 3 conservative majority on the bench, it does give Biden the opportunity to replace Breyer with a liberal jurist.

Biden during the 2020 presidential campaign pledged to nominate a Black woman to the court, a vow he said he intends to carry out with the vacancy created by Breyer’s retirement.

Ketanji Brown Jackson and J. Michelle Childs have been two of the names tossed around since Breyer announced his retirement. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has spoken highly about Childs.

Pressed by Tapper if she thinks it would be an opportunity to “put his money where his mouth is in terms of bipartisanship and unity,” Murkowski said “exactly so.”

“It goes back to his words at the Prayer Breakfast. How are we going to — how are we going to unify? What is it that we need to do? Well, one of the signals that he can send is putting forth a nominee for the Supreme Court that will, will gain a level of bipartisan support,” Murkowski said, referring to Biden’s appeal for unity at the National Prayer Breakfast on Tuesday.

“And when I say a level, I think it has to be more than just one, because, as much as that is, it does not necessarily mean that you have that broader support,” she added.

She said she wants to ensure that Biden “nominates an exceptional candidate, an exceptional individual.”

“And I would be honored to be able to support an exceptional African-American woman,” she added.