Biden begins process of interviewing Supreme Court candidates to replace Justice Breyer

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden has started meeting with candidates for his first nomination to the Supreme Court as the White House closes in on a self-imposed deadline to name a replacement for Associate Justice Stephen Breyer by the end of the month, a source with knowledge of the process told USA TODAY on Tuesday.

The person spoke to USA TODAY on condition of anonymity to discuss details of the process.

Much of the speculation around Biden's nominee has centered on U.S. Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger and U.S. District Judge J. Michelle Childs. Biden has vowed to nominate a Black woman to the high court for the first time in history and recently narrowed his focus.

Biden has interviewed all three, according to multiple reports. White House officials declined to provide details but said the president had not yet made up his mind.

"The president has not made a decision about who (he) is going to nominate," White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Tuesday evening. "I'm...not going to get into details about the internal process."

Beyond SCOTUS: Biden poised to triple number of Black women federal judges

Funding: GOP signals fight over 'dark money' in Supreme Court confirmation battle

Biden has said he will name a Supreme Court nominee by the end of the month to replace Breyer, who intends to retire in June. Late last month, the president was considering more than a dozen Black women – including judges, civil rights leaders and academics. Biden told NBC News on Feb. 10 he had conducted "deep dive" investigations into "about four " candidates for the job but he has not named them.

Biden first promised to name a Black woman to the Supreme Court two years ago this week on a debate stage ahead of the Democratic presidential primary in South Carolina. Senate Democrats have indicated they hope to confirm Biden's nominee by early April.

Speaking in Kentucky on Tuesday, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell pushed back on some of his GOP colleagues who have criticized Biden for focusing on naming a Black woman to the court. McConnell, according to Politico, told a group that he "heard a couple of people say they thought it was inappropriate for the president to announce he was going to put an African American woman on the court" but that he "did not think that was inappropriate."

Jackson's name has long been in the mix for the high court. The 51-year-old, Harvard Law grad, who was confirmed last year to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, was floated as a possible nominee back in 2016 when President Barack Obama was still in the White House.

Who is Judge Jackson?: She once clerked for Justice Breyer

Who is Judge Childs?: She anticipated the Supreme Court on same-sex marriage

Childs, 55, has presided over a U.S. District court in South Carolina since 2009. The University of South Carolina School of Law grad has a powerful ally in South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn, the third highest ranking Democrat in the House.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden begins process of interviewing Supreme Court candidates