Poll: Most Americans want Biden to consider 'all nominees' in Supreme Court pick
A majority of Democrats oppose Biden declaring the nominee will be a Black woman
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}More than three-quarters (76%) of Americans want President Joe Biden to consider all potential nominees to replace outgoing Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, according to a recent ABC News-Ipsos poll.
The poll comes after Biden said Thursday that he will announce his nominee before the end of February, and that the candidate will be a Black woman. Among Democrats, 54% supported considering all nominees regardless of race and gender. Just 23% of those polled wanted Biden to restrict his list of nominees to Black women.
President Joe Biden speaks on the retirement of Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The poll, which was conducted Jan. 28-29 with Ipsos Public Affairs' KnowledgePanel among a random national sample of 510 adults, also found that 43% believe that the Supreme Court is partisan, and that justices rule "on the basis of their partisan political views."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Other finding from the poll were unflattering toward the president, who earned low approval numbers on issues ranging from inflation — with 69% disapproving — to surging crime and gun violence. Just 1% of those polled said the state of the economy is "excellent."
The Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
Biden's Supreme Court announcement follows through on a pledge he made during the 2020 campaign. When his campaign was faltering during the 2020 Democratic primary in South Carolina, Biden reportedly told Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., he would publicly promise to appoint a Black woman to the high court in exchange for the House majority whip's endorsement.
BIDEN PROMISED REP. CLYBURN TO NOMINATE BLACK WOMAN TO SUPREME COURT
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Biden's decision has been criticized by those who claim he is allowing identity politics to seep into the Supreme Court. Last week, Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Dr. Ben Carson told WMAL that "to create that kind of situation in the highest court in the land is really abominable, and very detrimental to our freedoms."
Dr. Ben Carson campaigning at Nashua Community College in Nashua, New Hampshire, on Dec. 20, 2015. (Photo by Rick Friedman/rickfriedman.com/Corbis via Getty Images)
On Sunday, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, told ABC's "This Week" that the way Biden has handled the court vacancy has been "clumsy at best."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It adds to the further perception that the court is a political institution like Congress when it is not supposed to be," she said.