By Glynn Wilson –

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The news is not as huge as an indictment and show trial of former President Donald Trump would be. But the announcement by Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer that he will retire at the end of this court term and give President Joe Biden a chance to nominate his replacement will be big news in this midterm election year.

Since Biden appears to be sticking to his pledge from the South Carolina primary in 2020 to nominate an African American woman to the high court, the news could give Democrats a boost in voter satisfaction and turnout in the November elections (see new poll in the end).

And just as the people of Alabama thought their hero Senator from 2017 Doug Jones seemed to be going quietly into that good night, after being passed over for attorney general by President Biden last year who nominated federal judge Merrick Garland instead, Jones just emerged from the shadows as it was leaked that he will serve as Senate sherpa to guide Biden’s nominee through the confirmation process.

Two senior administration officials leaked the news to The New York Times on Tuesday.

The term sherpa is borrowed from mountaineers of Tibetan descent who live across the Himalayas and are known for their ability to navigate travelers across hazardous terrain.

The Times reports that the confirmation process could be “treacherous” and “contentious,” although the indication is that at least some top Republicans will not go to the mat to oppose Biden’s nominee since it will not change the political balance on the court.

Republican Senator Lindsay Graham of South Carolina has been sounding like he would support the nominee, especially if it turns out to be U.S. District Judge J. Michelle Childs from his home state.

Graham praising Childs on Sunday morning news talk shows as “qualified by every measure” and “one of the most decent people I’ve ever met.”

Childs’ is the product of public schools, not private schools, and received her law degree from the University of South Carolina, not Harvard or Yale. She had a “trail-blazing” partnership at a major law firm, and served in state government and as a trial judge in state and federal courts.

Weeks before Breyer announced his departure from the court, Biden nominated Childs to the powerful U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, DC., where she was confirmed without a fight.

“I don’t know of anybody that’s ever served on the Supreme Court that’s had this kind of resume,” said House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, a South Carolina Democrat and Biden ally who has been aggressively advocating for her as a possible Breyer replacement. “It’s the kind of resume that Joe Biden talked about when he ran, talked about people that have the kinds of experiences that she has is the kind of people you want to bring into government.”

Jones himself is no Ivy Leaguer. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Alabama, and his law degree from Cumberland Law School at Sanford University in Birmingham, which may be one reason he was passed over to lead the Department of Justice, out maneuvered for lack of gravitas by the Georgetown crowd in D.C.

Also on the short list is Ketanji Brown Jackson, with two degrees from Harvard. She clerked for Breyer, giving her the inside track, and has experience as a former public defender.

Other names include 7th Circuit Judge Candace Rae Jackson-Akiwumi, who also has public defender experience and an Ivy League education from Princeton and Yale, as well as the support of Senator Richard Durbin, the Democrat who chairs the Judiciary Committee that will hold hearings on the nomination.

Readers from all over the country may remember Jones as the first Democrat in a quarter century to win a Senate seat in deep-red, conservative Alabama in that special election in 2017 after Trump nominated then-Senator Jeff Sessions as attorney general.

In his three years in the Senate, Jones developed a reputation as a moderate who was willing to work across the political aisle with some Republicans, co-sponsoring bipartisan legislation.

He may have less experience in the Senate than others who have been chosen to guide Supreme Court nominees in the past, but he has a long friendship with Biden and allies in the Senate have praised his track record, especially on civil rights.

As a U.S. attorney in Birmingham appointed by President Bill Clinton, Jones remained on the job after President George W. Bush was elected in 2000 and successfully prosecuted two Ku Klux Klansmen who were proven to be involved in the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in 1963. Thomas Edwin Blanton Jr. and Bobby Frank Cherry were convicted of the infamous cold case of the bombing that killed four girls, ages 11 to 14, and captured the attention of the nation and played a role in leading to civil rights and voting rights legislation in Congress.

His record helped drive voter turnout in that election when he won a close race over the controversial religious conservative judge Roy Moore, who was accused of sexually assaulting teenage girls when he was an assistant district attorney in Etowah County, where he was also run off from the Gadsden Mall on a number of occasions for harassing young females for dates.

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Senator Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon and chair of the Senate Finance Committee, said good things about Jones.

“This is an individual who is well thought of on both sides of the aisle,” Wyden said. “He is somebody who understands the moment.”

Asked why Mr. Jones would be a good fit for the job, Senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Ohio, said, “Look at what he did with his life, look what he did on civil rights, look what he did as U.S. attorney, look what he did in the Senate. So those are all good reasons.”

Jones is so far not commenting on the honor and challenge of taking on this task, saying the official announcement has not yet been made.

Senate Democrats have promised a quick confirmation process, tossing out the challenge of getting it done in 40 days, but that may be ambitious.

Jones will have the task of helping to prepare the nominee for Senate confirmation hearings and introducing her to senators.

As for President Biden, he was planning to meet with Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Richard Durbin of Illinois and Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the top Republican on the committee.

“The Constitution says ‘advise and consent, advice and consent,’ and I’m serious when I say I want the advice of the Senate as well as the consent,” Biden told reporters on Tuesday.

Biden also spoke with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who reportedly stressed the importance of the president choosing a nominee who believes in “judicial independence,” according to a spokesperson for McConnell.

Because meet-and-greets in Washington have the potential for “combustion,” according to The Times, past guides have urged nominees to more or less adopt a “speak-when-spoken-to role.”

Tom C. Korologos, now 88 and a former Republican lobbyist and ambassador, has been involved in over 300 Senate confirmation processes, including those of Justices William H. Rehnquist and Antonin Scalia, and the nominee Robert H. Bork. In an interview with The Times, Mr. Korologos read from a detailed sheaf of notes that he had gathered over the years — a veritable dos and don’ts list for potential nominees.

“The first thing that happens is you say to the nominee, ‘Your role indeed is that of a bridegroom at a wedding,’” he said. “‘Stand to the right, be on time and keep your mouth shut.’ You’ve got to take this process very seriously, spend every moment boning up on your hearing, and don’t assume you’ve got the job.”

“Don’t go anywhere near the court,” Korologos said. “Don’t meet with anybody. If you’re getting a haircut or having your nails done, don’t say a word to anybody, and reserve your comments for the hearing. Somebody will have heard it.”

Korologos used to prep nominees by asking them to consider any skeletons in their closets.

“What is there in your background that you have done that is going to come up in a hearing?” he said he would ask. “I’m not asking you to tell me, but get an answer to it because they’re going to find it and ask it.”

The final nomination team, Korologos said, will most likely engage in what’s called “murder boards,” where nominees and the selection committee meet to prepare. This has been done in the White House in the past, or in private homes in the D.C. area, and members hurl tough questions to help the nominee get ready for the actual hearing.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who was fast-tracked to her seat days before the 2020 election, did not have a Senate guide, a decision that aides of President Donald J. Trump said was because of coronavirus concerns.

Jon Kyl, who served three terms as a Republican senator from Arizona and guided Brett Kavanaugh through one of the more bitter Senate confirmation processes in recent history, was the most recent sherpa before Jones.

Steve Schmidt, the Republican strategist who served as the chief White House strategist behind the nominations of Justice Samuel Alito Jr. and Chief Justice John G. Roberts on Capitol Hill, said in an interview that the person in charge of shepherding nominees has historically had a dual responsibility: stroking the egos of senators, unruffling feathers and keeping the nominee calm.

This opportunity gives Jones a chance at the national spotlight again. Voters in Alabama are wondering if or when he might run for public office again, perhaps for governor? Jones is mum on if or when that might happen, considering the uphill battle it would be in such a politically polarized environment and with Republicans in such lock-step control of all three branches of government in Alabama.

Poll Shows Biden Could Benefit from Nomination

According to a poll just out from Morning Consult, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement gives President Joe Biden an opportunity to fulfill a campaign promise and put the first Black woman on the highest court in America.

“The chance to make history also gives Biden the potential to shore up his base support and enthusiasm — especially among Black voters and younger Democrats, who have for months registered tepid backing for his handling of the job.”

Nearly 7 in 10 Black voters (68 percent) said they support Biden’s decision to appoint a Black woman to replace Breyer, compared with 46 percent of white voters. Black voters are nearly twice as likely as white voters to strongly support the move, 47 percent to 24 percent.

Biden’s choice to elevate a Black woman to the Supreme Court — revealed during his primary campaign for president and reaffirmed upon Breyer’s retirement announcement — has support from 51 percent of the overall electorate, including 47 percent of independents and 82 percent of Democrats.

Black voters, especially those in South Carolina, effectively delivered Biden’s victory in the Democratic primary, according to survey research. But their support for his presidency waned over his first year in office.

Since his inauguration, Biden’s approval rating among Black voters fell from 86 percent to 63 percent, while the share who strongly support his job performance dropped from 65 percent to 27 percent.

His support is also tepid among younger Democratic voters, those under the age of 45, who fueled a surge in voter participation during the 2018 midterm elections and Biden’s victory over Trump.

According to the latest survey, younger Democrats are slightly less likely to approve of Biden’s job performance than those 45 and older (76 percent to 82 percent), and are less likely to strongly do so (27 percent to 43 percent).

“The nomination provides a much-needed moment for Biden and the Democrats to try to boost that base enthusiasm ahead of November’s contest,” the pollsters say.

Black voters are less likely than white voters to say they’re “extremely” or “very” enthusiastic about voting in midterm elections, 37 percent to 50 percent, and a similar gap appears between the youngest and oldest, 39 percent to 55 percent.

Both figures are indicative of the Democratic Party’s enthusiasm problem heading into the campaign season: 56 percent of Republican voters expressed high excitement for the midterms in the latest survey, compared with 47 percent of Democrats.

When it comes to the prospect of a Black female justice, Democratic voters are more likely to express excitement (75 percent) about Biden’s plans than Republicans are to say they are angry (40 percent) or worried (46 percent) about it, suggesting the energy behind the choice is higher on the left side of the aisle.

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