美国国家公共电台 NPR--拜登总统已决定其最高法院提名人选

President Biden has decided¹ on his nominee² for the Supreme³ Court

Transcript⁴

President Biden has made his pick to fill a vacancy⁵ on the Supreme Court.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

President Biden has made his pick to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court. Federal Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson will be the first Black woman nominated to the high court. He plans to officially introduce her at the White House a little later this afternoon. NPR White House correspondent Asma Khalid is with us now. Hi, Asma.

ASMA KHALID, BYLINE⁶: Hi there, Rachel.

MARTIN: Tell us more about this nomination⁷. Who is Ketanji Brown Jackson?

KHALID: Well, first off, as you said, Rachel, she is the first Black woman to be nominated to the Supreme Court. This follows up on a pledge that Joe Biden made very publicly, actually, two years ago to the date during his presidential campaign there in South Carolina. And in the statement announcing her decision, the White House points out she's been confirmed to the Senate with votes from Republicans and Democrats⁸ three times in the past. She is an experienced judge, and in some ways, she has the typical pedigree. She went to Harvard Law School, was an editor on the Law Review there, and by many accounts, she was consistently viewed as the front-runner for this job. She served as a federal trial court judge, and last summer, she was confirmed for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. But, Rachel, really, one thing that does stand out about her background is that she served as a public defender⁹, and if confirmed, she would be the first former federal public defender to serve on the Supreme Court.

MARTIN: And she clerked for Stephen Breyer - right? - the very justice she's nominated to replace. He is leaving the court at the end of the term in late June. What does her confirmation¹⁰ process look like?

KHALID: Well, this afternoon, the president is going to officially introduce her as his pick, and according to the White House, she'll also give some remarks. Then this goes to Congress, and the Senate will vote to confirm her as the nominee. This requires a simple majority. So President Biden's pick does not need any Republican support, and frankly¹¹, given current political partisanship¹³, I don't think that it's to be expected that she'll get a lot of Republican support. That's already, I would say, some of the reaction we've seen this morning. It's largely been partisan¹². But ultimately, I will say, I don't expect this to be a particularly long process. Democrats have the numbers in the Senate. They will want this to go quickly. And they realize that they may not have those numbers after the November midterms.

MARTIN: Asma, I wonder how the historic nature of Ketanji Brown Jackson's nomination affected¹⁴ the - her selection.

KHALID: Well, I will say, Rachel, I think it has been the central storyline. My inbox this morning has been flooded with emails from advocacy organizations praising the historic nature of Ketanji Brown Jackson as the Supreme Court pick, the Supreme Court nominee. Back in January, a number of Black women who've been engaged in Democratic politics wrote this letter of support. They said that they felt like this has been long overdue¹⁵. It's never happened in the court's 200-plus-year history, and they're excited. They wrote that nominating a Black woman with the necessary compassion¹⁶, sense of justice and brilliant legal mind will bolster¹⁷ the integrity of the Supreme Court.

But, you know, I will say, as soon as this vacancy opened, some Republicans started complaining that they saw this as reverse racism¹⁸. They were livid. They accused Joe Biden of choosing a, quote, "affirmative action" pick. And really, the language around race has gotten really nasty, and I'm not sure it's going to get better through this confirmation process.

MARTIN: NPR White House correspondent Asma Khalid. Thank you again, reporting on news that President Biden will nominate Federal Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court.

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

3 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

4 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

5 vacancy   

n.（旅馆的）空位，空房，（职务的）空缺

参考例句：

• Her going on maternity leave will create a temporary vacancy.她休产假时将会有一个临时空缺。
• The vacancy of her expression made me doubt if she was listening.她茫然的神情让我怀疑她是否在听。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

8 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。

10 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

11 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

12 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

13 Partisanship   

n. 党派性, 党派偏见

参考例句：

• Her violent partisanship was fighting Soames's battle. 她的激烈偏袒等于替索米斯卖气力。
• There was a link of understanding between them, more important than affection or partisanship. ' 比起人间的感情，比起相同的政见，这一点都来得格外重要。 来自英汉文学

14 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

15 overdue   

adj.过期的，到期未付的；早该有的，迟到的

参考例句：

• The plane is overdue and has been delayed by the bad weather.飞机晚点了，被坏天气耽搁了。
• The landlady is angry because the rent is overdue.女房东生气了，因为房租过期未付。

16 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

17 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

18 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。