THE HILL: Feud escalates between Obama, black lawmakers.

A feud between President Obama and black lawmakers over racial diversity among judges escalated Wednesday.

Valerie Jarrett, the president’s closest adviser, met with Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) members and refused to back down over controversial nominees despite a growing storm of criticism.

Many CBC members say Obama hasn’t fought hard enough to fill the federal bench with the Democrats’ preferred picks, leaving some states with nominees who lack the ethnic diversity of the population they would oversee.

In a closed-door meeting with a handful of CBC leaders, Jarrett brushed back the criticism, saying Obama had a “commitment to diversity” and an “outstanding” record in placing minority judges, she said afterward.

Asked if the White House would consider replacing any of its choices, Jarrett’s answer was a terse, “No.”

They told me if I voted for Mitt Romney, the President would nominate people the Black Caucus would hate. And they were right!