THE PRESIDENT of the United States has few more exacting responsibilities than the appointment of justices to the United States Supreme Court. I am delighted to announce today that Byron White, the Deputy Attorney General of the United States, has accepted appointment as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. I have known Mr. White for over twenty years. His character, experience and intellectual force qualify him superbly for service on the nation's highest tribunal.
His varied experience in legal practice, in government, and in the Navy--in addition to his remarkable scholarly accomplishments and his service as law clerk to Chief Justice Vinson--have given him a humane and understanding approach to people and to problems. He has excelled in everything he has attempted--in his academic life, in his military service, in his career before the bar and in the Federal government--and I know that he will excel on the highest court in the land. I am gratified, in addition, that the American Bar Association has rated Mr. White as "exceptionally well qualified" for his new responsibilities.
Note: The statement was read by the President to a group of newsmen called into his office at the White House during the evening.
John F. Kennedy, Statement by the President Upon Appointing Byron White to the Supreme Court. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/236287