Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said on Monday that President Joe Biden’s decision to select a Black woman for the upcoming Supreme Court seat vacancy is “actually an insult to Black women.”

“The fact that he’s willing to make a promise at the outset, that it must be a Black woman, I gotta say that’s offensive,” the senator said Monday on his podcast, “Verdict with Ted Cruz.”

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas (Photo by Tom Williams-Pool/Getty Images)

Biden has made clear that he intends to fill retiring Justice Stephen Breyer’s seat on the Supreme Court with a Black woman. 

“He’s saying, ‘If you’re a white guy, tough luck. If you’re a white woman, tough luck. You don’t qualify,’” Cruz added, The Huffington Post reports. 

His comments sparked both outrage and debate on Twitter.

“This nation has been built on the strength and fortitude of Black women. We are everything from caregivers to CEOs and soon, a Supreme Court Justice. The only thing insulting to this Black woman is Ted Cruz thinking he speaks for us.,” Rep. Marilyn Strickland (D-Wash.) responded.

Another Twitter user commented, “Oh, please. As if he, or just about anyone in the GOP, cares about a judge being qualified. All they care about is packing courts with as many fellow conservatives as possible – preferably, white. Like AC Barrett or that Kavanaugh person were ‘qualified’ for the SC.  Ha!”

A third added, “Supreme Court is no place for affirmative action. You should be insulted if “black woman” is the only quality required.”

While campaigning in 2020, Biden vowed to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court.

“We are putting together a list of a group of African American women who are qualified and have the experience to be in the court,” Biden said during a 2020 press conference, as reported by CNBC. “I am not going to release that until we go further down the line of vetting them.”

Last week, the president reaffirmed that he will name a Black woman as Breyer’s successor. Ilya Shapiro, a Georgetown, constitutional-law expert, said in a series of now-deleted tweets that Biden will nominate a “lesser Black woman” to join the Supreme Court, instead of a more qualified man, theGrio reported.

Backlash over the tweets prompted Georgetown Law School to put Shapiro, an incoming director, on administrative leave, Insider reports.

“Ilya Shapiro’s tweets are antithetical to the work that we do here every day to build inclusion, belonging, and respect for diversity,” Georgetown Law School Dean William Treanor wrote in a note to the law school community.

(Credit: Facebook)

An investigation has reportedly been launched into whether Shapiro violated the university’s policies and “expectations of professional conduct.”

Shapiro said the investigation will “vindicate” him.

“I’m optimistic that Georgetown’s investigation will be fair, impartial, and professional, though there’s really not much to investigate,” Shapiro said in a statement posted on Twitter.

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