Meet Candace Jackson-Akiwumi, the Nigerian woman set to be US Supreme Judge

Candace Jackson-Akiwumi married to Eric Akiwumi, who is a Nigerian, is one of the most likely potential nominees for a Supreme Court appointment under President Joe Biden.

The exit of Breyer, who is 83, gives Biden a likely smooth opportunity to name a replacement to the lifelong seat on the Supreme Court while his Democratic Party retains control of the Senate.

Biden had promised to put an African-American woman on the court back when he was campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Among the leading candidates to replace Breyer are Ketanji Brown Jackson, a US Court of Appeals judge, and Leondra Kruger of the California Supreme Court.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Biden had “already started reviewing potential candidates” and the nomination process should “happen as expeditiously as possible.”

Of the 115 justices who served on the Supreme Court, only five have been women, including three today – Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett. Only two have been Black men, one of whom is current Justice Clarence Thomas.