Brandon Gill Presses ABA Chief on 22% Black Supreme Court Share and DEI Accreditation
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jul 23
Brandon Gill Presses ABA Chief on 22% Black Supreme Court Share and DEI Accreditation
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 23
Summary
House Republicans used a July 22 oversight hearing to challenge the ABA’s diversity policies, with Brandon Gill repeatedly asking President Michelle Behnke whether the Court’s two Black justices—22% of the bench versus 13% of the U.S. population—would justify rejecting a third Black nominee.
Behnke declined to give yes-or-no answers and repeatedly said the ABA supports diversity but not quotas, while defending broader diversity efforts as strengthening the legal profession.
Gill also tied the issue to President Joe Biden’s 2022 pledge to nominate the first Black woman to the Supreme Court, pressing Behnke on whether race had improperly shaped Ketanji Brown Jackson’s selection.
The clash centered on the ABA’s influence over legal education, since ABA-approved schools remain the main path to bar eligibility in most states, even as Texas, Florida, Alabama and Tennessee explore alternatives.