A Georgetown University law school administrator was suspended from his position after claiming that President Joe Biden will not nominate “the objectively best choice” but will nominate a “smaller black woman” for the Supreme Court.
Ilya Shapiro, a prominent libertarian who was a senior fellow in constitutional studies at the Cato Institute and EIC of the Cato Supreme Court Review, made the claim in a now-deleted tweet.
“The best objective choice for Biden is Sri Srinivasan [chief judge on the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, who is solid prog & v smart,” he tweeted. “Even has identity politics benefit of being first Asian (Indian) American. But alas doesn’t fit into latest intersectionality hierarchy so we’ll get lesser black woman. Thank heaven for small favors?”
Shapiro and his tweet were harshly criticized by his own colleagues.
“The tweets’ suggestion that the best Supreme Court nominee could not be a Black woman and their use of demeaning language are appalling,” said Bill Treanor, the dean of Georgetown Law, in a message to students.
Shapiro did not necessarily walk back his remarks.
“A person’s dignity and worth simply do not, and should not, depend on race, gender, or any other immutable characteristic,” he said in a statement. “While it’s important that a wide variety of perspectives and backgrounds be respected in the judiciary, so blatantly using identity politics in choosing Supreme Court justices is discrediting to a vital institution.”
Shapiro’s remarks echo similar ones from prominent Republicans, including Fox News personalities, who’ve complained that Biden is not selecting the best possible nominee. Last week, Geraldo Rivera suggested that Biden’s announcement that he would nominate a Black woman to replace Associate Justice Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court would be “affirmative action.”
“It’s interesting that it’s definitely affirmative action, right? As [the Supreme Court is] in light of the favorable lawsuit against Harvard and the University of North Carolina,” he said.
Yesterday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki pushed back counters Republicans’ suggestion that Biden’s election would amount to “affirmative action,” noting that Republicans did not make that argument when former Presidents Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump vowed to nominate women.
“I would like to say that there is a long history here. President Reagan promised he would nominate the country’s first woman for court service. He did. Former President Trump also promised a little over a year ago to elect a woman,” she told the White House Press Pool.
“There have been no such complaints from the voices of the right now speaking out,” she added. “But the President’s obligation is to deliver on the promise made to the country. But he doesn’t question that there is an abundance of talented, qualified Black women to choose from.”
Alan is a New York-based writer, editor, and news junkie.
