The senior-most liberal on the Supreme Court is enjoying that distinction and doesn’t want to talk about his retirement plans.
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, 82, has served 27 years on the high court. And plenty of lefties are concerned that he’ll delay his retirement just long enough for Republicans to take back control of the Senate. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has made clear he has no qualms about blocking President Joe Biden’s Supreme Court picks, just as he did with Merrick Garland, President Obama’s nominee to replace Justice Antonin Scalia.
But in an interview with CNN, Breyer wasn’t hearing it. Asked if he had decided when to step down, Breyer simply said “no.”
Two factors will inform the decision, he said.
“Primarily, of course, health,” Breyer told CNN. “Second, the court.”
More than the timing of his retirement, Breyer seemed to relish his role as the court’s senior-most liberal, which places him behind Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Clarence Thomas in the speaking order during the court’s private conferences.
“You have to figure out what you’re going to say in conference to a greater extent, to get it across simply,” Breyer said. “You have to be flexible, hear other people, and be prepared to modify your views. But that doesn’t mean [going in with] a blank mind.”
The reaction to the justice’s noncommittal answers on retirement was swift.
“This just reflects a pathological disregard for other human beings at this point with the consequences made clear by Ginsburg’s death,” wrote The Atlantic’s Adam Serwer.
Ginsburg’s passing in September 2020 allowed then-President Trump to cement the current 6-3 conservative majority by nominating Amy Coney Barrett for the high court with just weeks to go in his presidency.
Two words: “truck factor”.
Breyer must have thought about this, and must understand the consequences, especially after what happened with Ginsburg’s seat. The common wisdom is that he is waiting until next year, when his protege Ketanji Brown-Jackson has been on the 2nd Circuit for a year and can be nominated to take his place. It seems like a decent plan, as long as no Democrats die or resign, giving control of the judicial nomination process to McConnell and Republicans…if that happens then no justices will be allowed on the SC until a Republican is president or Republicans lose control of the Senate again.
There’s also the possibility Breyer is happy staying in his seat until he dies and will allow things to work themselves out however they do…it’s what Ginsburg did, though in fairness to her she should have been able to retire in 2016 while Obama could nominate her successor. When the Garland nomination crashed, she was stuck trying to tough it out to 2021, and she almost made it. I severely doubt that she would do the same thing if she knew how it would turn out, so the question is if Breyer is going to follow her path, possibly screwing over the idea of a balanced SC that rules for the people, or if he’ll actually consider the future of the nation in his decision on when to retire.
I don’t know…what is his percentage of voting for ‘liberal’ issues. It seems like he votes with the conservatives quite a bit.
Ginsburg didn’t live long enough to ensure the court wouldn’t be set up to screw the country for at least a generation. Why should Breyer be any different.
When your ego can only be described as monumental, “for the good of the country” never enters into the equation.
This just offers more proof of why SCOTUS should be expanded to at least 13 or, preferably, 15, which would bring it more in line with the rest of the courts in the industrial world.