Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), one of Joe Biden’s staunchest allies on the Hill, is telling the president that if he wants his choice for Supreme Court associate justice to replace the retiring Stephen Breyer, he’s going to need GOP help.
My PJ Media colleague Matt Margolis pointed out this fact on Saturday. With the stroke suffered by New Mexico Senator Ben Ray Luján, it’s likely that the president is going to need at least one Republican to vote for his nominee in order to confirm them.
Clyburn is no backbench kibbitzer. He’s the number two Democrat in the House, and Biden himself credits him with resurrecting his nearly moribund campaign by endorsing him and traveling through South Carolina with him. Biden took South Carolina and never looked back.
“The president will likely have a bipartisan pick. It has got to be bipartisan in order to get appointed to the court,” said Clyburn, who represents South Carolina in Congress.
Clyburn is openly pulling for South Carolina Judge Michelle Childs to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court. He said he has not spoken recently to the president or the vice president about Childs, a federal district court judge, but talked about her this week with South Carolina’s two U.S. senators, Republicans Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott.
No one knows the condition of Senator Luján or whether he can come back to the Senate anytime soon. He underwent surgery, and his aide gave a timeline of four to six weeks for a return and that the Senator was going to make a “full recovery.”
All of that should be accepted with a grain of salt. In New Mexico, any Senate vacancy would be filled by the governor — in this case, Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham (who is a distant cousin of Sen. Luján). If Luján retires, Grisham could name a replacement in time to have them vote on the nomination in the Senate.
There’s also the possibility that Breyer will delay his retirement until the situation clarifies itself.
“I know how to count. I’m the whip,” Clyburn said. “It has to be bipartisan. So I’m reaching out to the two Republicans from South Carolina. I’ve asked them for their support, but I’m talking to other Republicans, as well.”
Clyburn did not say who the other Republicans are that he had spoken to besides Graham and Scott, who he dined with Wednesday in Washington. Graham shared a photo of the trio to his Twitter account.
Great fellowship today with my colleagues @SenatorTimScott and @WhipClyburn.
Very proud of who we are in South Carolina.
Smiling Faces, Beautiful Places! pic.twitter.com/2pxb88t09i
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) February 2, 2022
It’s more than possible that if Biden chooses Childs, either Graham or Scott — or even both — would vote to confirm her appointment. As long as Childs isn’t a child murderer or has some other disqualifying incident from her past, there are likely going to be several other Republicans who join the parade and vote for a black female Supreme Court pick.
Perhaps Democrats will return the favor if a Republican is elected president in 2024 and a vacancy for the high court arises?
We can dream, can’t we?
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