President Joe Biden promised last week to nominate the first black woman to the Supreme Court. ‘Long overdue,’ he says.

When it comes to elevating African-American females to high office, Biden has form. He chose Kamala Harris, remember, to be the first woman US Vice President of colour.

But what if Biden elected to choose the same woman — namely, Vice President Kamala Harris — for the Supreme Court? Wouldn’t that be so unimaginative and tokenistic, as to be quite racist? Even a leader as error-prone as Biden wouldn’t do that, would he?

Yet in Washington, there are whispers of a cunning plan...