Senate panel delays confirmation hearing for circuit court nominee amid SCOTUS speculation

The Senate Judiciary Committee is delaying a confirmation hearing for an appeals court nominee who is among those speculated to be under consideration to be tapped for Justice Stephen Breyer’s soon-to-be-vacant Supreme Court seat.

A committee spokeswoman confirmed to The Hill that J. Michelle Childs, a district court judge in South Carolina who President Biden nominated to the powerful D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in December, is no longer scheduled to be part of the agenda for a confirmation hearing on Tuesday.

“On Tuesday, the Committee will hold a hearing to consider pending district court nominees, and the Committee looks forward to processing a number of circuit nominees in the near future,” Jenna Valle-Riestra told The Hill in an email.

The news was first reported on Friday by CNN.

Childs had been slated to appear as part of her pending D.C. Circuit confirmation.

In the days after word leaked of Breyer’s retirement plans, the judge’s name has been included in the public speculation about who Biden will pick to fulfill his campaign pledge to appoint the first Black woman to sit on the Supreme Court.

Though it’s unclear if she’s among the front-runners, Childs has been heavily promoted by Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), the No. 3 House Democrat who has touted her as a potential nominee who could attract Republican support.

It’s unclear when her confirmation hearing for the D.C. Circuit seat will be rescheduled.