US President Joe Biden has said he will reveal his choice for Supreme Court nominee by the end of February 2022
US President Joe Biden has said he will reveal his choice for Supreme Court nominee by the end of February 2022 AFP / Brendan SMIALOWSKI

President Joe Biden plans to announce his nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday at the White House, according to two people familiar with the process.

Biden pledged during the 2020 presidential election campaign to nominate the first Black woman to serve on the high court, with the announcement set to tee up a confirmation battle in the closely-divided Senate.

The timing of Biden's announcement has been in flux because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The frontrunner for the post is thought to be Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, who serves on a federal appeals court in Washington. Other contenders are J. Michelle Childs, a district court judge in South Carolina and Leondra Kruger, a justice on the California Supreme Court.

The nominee would replace liberal Justice Stephen Breyer, who announced in January his intention to step down. The Supreme Court has a 6-3 conservative majority that will be unchanged by the new appointment.