- White House press secretary Jen Psaki said she's "blissfully not a spokesperson" for Sen. Ted Cruz.
- Psaki was asked about Cruz's criticism of Biden's pledge to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court.
- Cruz earlier this week called Biden's decision "offensive."
White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Wednesday expressed relief that she doesn't work for Sen. Ted Cruz in response to a question about the Texas Republican's criticism of President Joe Biden's decision to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court.
During a press briefing, a reporter asked Psaki why some Republicans, including Cruz, have slammed Biden's pledge to name the first Black woman to the nation's highest court. By contrast, the GOP lawmakers embraced President Donald Trump's vow to put a woman on the bench to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg after she died in 2020. Trump fulfilled that pledge by appointing Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
"I am blissfully not a spokesperson for Senator Cruz, so he can best answer that question," Psaki said.
"I think that's really a question for Senator Cruz," she added. "There was never an objection by Senator Cruz to Donald Trump promising he'd nominate a woman in 2020."
Psaki's comments come after Cruz weighed in on Biden's plans to put a Black woman on the Supreme Court, calling the move "offensive" and an "insult."
"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. You know, Black women are what, 6% of the US population? He's saying to 94% of Americans, 'I don't give a damn about you, you are ineligible,'" the senator said on Sunday during his podcast "Verdict with Ted Cruz."
He continued: "It's actually an insult to Black women. If he came and said, 'I'm gonna put the best jurist on the court,' and he looked at a number of people and he ended up nominating a Black woman, he could credibly say, 'OK, I'm nominating the person who's most qualified.' He's not even pretending to say that, he's saying, 'If you're a white guy, tough luck. If you're a white woman, tough luck. You don't qualify.'"
—NowThis (@nowthisnews) February 2, 2022
Steve Guest, a spokesman for Cruz, tweeted in response to Psaki's comment that she's "missing out."
Guest then updated his Twitter account with the title "Blissfully Special Advisor for Communications for Sen. Ted Cruz," and in a follow-up tweet, he wrote "Thank you @PressSec @jrpsaki for the inspiration for an updated Twitter bio!"
—Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) February 2, 2022
Biden pledged on the 2020 campaign trail that he'd name the first-ever Black woman to the Supreme Court. Following Associate Justice Stephen Breyer's retirement announcement last week, Biden confirmed that he's sticking to his promise.
"The president's view is the notion that there has not been a Black woman ever on the Supreme Court in 230 years is a problem with the process — not a lack of qualified, credentialed people to consider and nominate," Psaki said on Wednesday.
Senate Democratic leaders plan to move quickly to confirm Biden's nominee once the president makes his selection by the end of the month. Democrats can confirm Biden's pick without any GOP support as long as all 50 senators are on board.