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Biden names Ketanji Jackson as SCOTUS pick, slammed for basing it 'on race, not qualifications'

Twitter users have pointed out that Ketanji has been nominated because Biden had made being Black, one of the criteria to be eligible for the position

Joe Biden, President of the United States, has finally announced his nomination for the Supreme Court vacancy. Biden on February 25, announced Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as his nomination after Justice Stephen Breyer's retirement from the position. This makes Ketanji Brown Jackson the first Black woman to be nominated for the position. 

Biden had promised that would be nominating the first Black woman to the High Court back in 2020, even before he had been elected as president. "The person I will nominate will be someone with extraordinary qualifications, character experience and integrity," Biden, 79, said then. "And that person will be the first Black woman ever nominated to the United States Supreme Court. It's long overdue in my view. I made that commitment during my campaign for president, and I will keep that commitment."

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On being asked why Ketanji was the choice for the position, a White House official stated that Ketanji was one of the "nation's brightest legal minds."The official noted her career ranges from clerking for retiring Justice Breyer himself to serving as an appellate judge and on the US Sentencing Commission as well as a federal public defender.

However, as much have as netizens have welcomed Biden's choice, the president has also received criticism for having 'undermined' Ketanji earlier on some of his statements. Many Twitter users have pointed out that Ketanji has been nominated especially because Biden had made being Black, one of the criteria to be eligible for the position as he had already stated earlier that he would be choosing a Black woman. One social media user wrote: "In some ways, I feel sorry for Ketanji Brown Jackson. She has a solid background, but because of Biden's insane race and gender promise, she'll never have the full level of respect she deserves. Affirmative action damages those it rewards, as well as those it punishes."

Many people have also pointed out that race being a criterion for the position's eligibility will lead to Ketanji facing racism and even unnecessary criticism going forward. While the new Supreme Court nominee is receiving a lot of praise and honor for being chosen for the position, a lot of people agree that the nomination would have sounded a lot fairer if 'extraordinary qualifications, character experience and integrity' were the only pointers for eligibility.

Another social media user replied to Biden's announcement saying: "You literally said the person chosen would be a black women - you've reduced Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to her race and gender - her qualifications weren't what you considered."