Who is J. Michelle Childs?
J. MICHELLE Childs could be Joe Biden's pick to replace Justice Breyer on the Supreme Court.
Childs is seen as a popular pick and even has the backing of some Republican senators. But who is she and why is she being considered?
Who is J. Michelle Childs?
Childs, 55, is a South Carolina district court judge and an expert in labor and employment law.
She is being considered to replace Justice Stephen Breyer, 83, on the Supreme Court.
Judge Childs is well known as a public defender, which is the type of background President Joe Biden is looking for in a Supreme Court pick.
She was born in Detroit and was raised by her mother after her dad, a police officer, was killed.
When did J. Michelle Childs become a judge?
The Supreme Court nominee graduated with a Bachelor or Arts in Management and a Juris Doctor from the University of South Florida and the South Carolina School of Law in 1991.
She went on to work for law firm Nexsen Pruet that same year and became the law firm's first African American partner in 2000.
Her nomination has been widely welcomed by both sides of the political aisle.
South Carolina Republican senator Lindsey Graham - a leading Donald Trump ally and a member of the committee who will choose the next Supreme Court justice - said Biden couldn't have picked "a better person".
He told CBS's Face the Nation on Sunday, January 30, 2022: "She has wide support in our state.
"She’s considered to be a fair-minded, highly gifted jurist. She’s one of the most decent people I’ve ever met."
Others have slammed the move.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Susan Collins, a moderate Republican from Maine told ABC's This Week: "The way that the president has handled this nomination has been clumsy at best.
"It adds to the further perception that the court is a political institution like Congress when it is not supposed to be."