A Supreme Court Justice who has been under increasing pressure from the left has finally caved, announcing that he will retire at the end of the court’s current term.
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, 83, will be retiring at the end of the court’s current term, giving Joe Biden the opportunity to replace him with another left-wing jurist.
BREAKING: Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer to retire, @NBCNews has learnedhttps://t.co/YFAkggcOaw
— CNBC Now (@CNBCnow) January 26, 2022
Breyer, the oldest judge on the court, is expected to depart from the court over the summer, just before the midterm elections, which would give the left something positive to put in their campaign ads. Either they appoint a justice prior to the elections, giving them a win to run on, or they don’t get it done, giving them something to use to scare their base into coming out to the polls.
I don't know who needs to hear this but Breyer announcing retirement means Dems know they are losing the Senate this year
— Wag the Poso 🐕 (@JackPosobiec) January 26, 2022
During the presidential campaign, Joe Biden backed himself into a corner regarding potential nominations for a Supreme Court Justice, promising that he would nominate a black woman if he got the chance.
“I’m looking forward to making sure there’s a black woman on the Supreme Court, to make sure we in fact get every representation,” he said on Feb. 25, 2020.
Regardless, Breyer’s resignation won’t change the makeup of the court, which sits at a 6-3 conservative majority, as he is a liberal-leaning judge, and Biden will most certainly appoint another left-leaning judge, who will likely be confirmed by the slim Democrat majority in the Senate.
Several commentators are remarking that the confirmation vote on Breyer’s replacement may largely be left up to the two moderate Democrats in the Senate, who have been bullied a great deal by their fellow Democrats but have stood firm on many issues in opposition to their own party.
BREAKING: Manchin and Sinema get to pick a Supreme Court Justice
— Wag the Poso 🐕 (@JackPosobiec) January 26, 2022
With Breyer leaving, conservative Justice Clarence Thomas is now the oldest member of the court at 73 years old.
According to reporting from the New York Post, “Among the names being circulated as potential nominees are California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger, U.S. Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, prominent civil rights lawyer Sherrilyn Ifill and U.S. District Judge Michelle Childs, whom Biden has nominated to be an appeals court. Childs is a favorite of Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., who made a crucial endorsement of Biden just before South Carolina’s presidential primary in 2020.”
Breyer was nominated to the Supreme Court by former President Bill Clinton and has been serving on the court since 1994. Prior to his appointment, he was appointed as a federal appeals court judge in Boston by former President Jimmy Carter after working in the Senate. He served for 14 years on the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals before moving to the Supreme Court. His 87-9 confirmation vote was the last with fewer than 10 dissenting votes.
