This is how a US Supreme Court Justice is elected. 2:34
(CNN) --
President Joe Biden said Thursday that he has done an "in-depth analysis" of four possible candidates to succeed Justice Stephen Breyer on the US Supreme Court, but declined to name them.
"I've taken about four people and thoroughly investigated them, I mean, I've checked their backgrounds, to see if there's anything that makes them unqualified," Biden told NBC News' Lester Holt in an interview taped Thursday.
The White House indicated this week that Biden is on track with his plan to select a candidate before a late-February deadline set by the president.
The president said he plans to nominate a black woman to the high court for the first time in history.
Washington City Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger and South Carolina U.S. District Court Judge J. Michelle Childs have been considered for the list. of finalists.
Who would be Biden's Supreme Court nominee?
3:39
The president was also optimistic about the possibility of gaining support from Senate Republicans, telling NBC News, "I'm not looking to make an ideological choice here. I'm looking for someone to replace Justice Breyer with the same kind of ability." that Justice Breyer had, with an open mind, who understands the Constitution, who interprets it in a way that is consistent with the majority interpretation of the Constitution.
-- This is a developing story.
advertising
United States Supreme Court