(Reuters) - President Joe Biden on Thursday nominated two new federal appeals court judges, including a South Carolina judge seen by some as a U.S. Supreme Court contender. Biden nominated U.S. District Judge J. Michelle Childs, 55, in South Carolina to the influential U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She would replace U.S. Circuit Judge David Tatel, who in February announced plans to take senior status, a form of semi-retirement for judges. Biden also nominated Nancy Abudu, a voting rights advocate who serves as deputy legal director at Southern Poverty Law Center, to a seat on the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Childs" selection was hailed by U.S. Representative James Clyburn, the majority whip and third-ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives, who has pushed Biden to consider the Black, female judge should a Supreme Court vacancy arise. "I believe Judge Childs" background and experiences make her ideally suited for the position," Clyburn said in a statement. Childs is Biden"s second nominee to the D.C. Circuit, which has served as a springboard to the Supreme Court in the past, including for current Justices John Roberts, Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh. His first nominee, Ketanji Brown Jackson, was confirmed by the Senate in May. Jackson, 51, is also Black and is considered a potential Supreme Court nominee should 83-year-old liberal Justice Stephen Breyer retire. The Democratic president pledged during his election campaign to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court if he gets a chance to fill a vacancy, which would be a historic first. In total, Biden has nominated 73 federal district or circuit court judges, the majority women or people of color. He has sought through his nominees to bring greater professional and personal diversity to the bench. Abudu, who earlier worked at the American Civil Liberties Union and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, would be the first Black woman judge ever to sit on the 11th Circuit, the White House said.