I was going to title this article, "No, Biden Isn't Nominating Kamala Harris to The Supreme Court", but CNN's Chris Cillizza pretty much beat me to it:
This, is, um, not going to happen. For a few reasons.
First, Harris has chosen a life in elected office; she's served continuously in office since 2004, when she was elected district attorney of San Francisco.
Second, she is next in line to be the president of the United States. Whenever Biden decides to call it quits (or loses reelection), she is, without question, the early favorite to replace or follow him.
Third, while the Biden team has said they want to look for SCOTUS candidates with different resumes from the people currently on the court, there are plenty of credible candidates currently in the judiciary.
I agree with Cilizza on reasons one and three. If Biden going to appoint an African-American woman to the High Court it will be someone already serving on the federal bench. However, I disagree with his characterization that Harris is "the early favorite to replace or follow him."
Indeed, the speculation that Biden would appoint Harris to the Supreme Court in the first place (even before Stephen Breyer announced he was retiring) is a product of her high unfavorable polling. Last November, the White House strongly denounced a CNN report which claimed Harris was struggling in the job.
If Biden were to appoint Harris to the Supreme Court it would be a tacit admission that her critics were right and that he made the wrong choice for his running mate. It would also open questions as to whom Biden would pick as Harris' successor. This would escalate Democratic Party infighting and open new wounds in what is already shaping to be a tough election year. I just can't see this scenario coming to pass.
For better or for worse, Joe Biden is going to stick with Kamala Harris
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