Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is slated to appear at the White House with President Joe Biden on Thursday to officially announce his plan to step down at the end of the high court’s term this summer, according to CNN, NBC News and the Associated Press.
Reports of Breyer’s impending retirement broke on Wednesday, though the justice himself has yet to publicly reveal his decision. Biden and the White House have been keeping a tight lip on the blockbuster development, refusing to comment until Breyer makes an announcement.
“Let him make whatever statement he’s going to make, and I’ll be happy to talk about it later,” Biden told reporters on Wednesday.
However, White House press secretary Jen Psaki did reiterate during a press briefing Biden’s vow to appoint a Black female justice to the court.
Breyer’s retirement comes as extremely welcome news to many Democrats and activists, who’d been biting their nails over the (not unlikely) possibility of Republicans hijacking Biden’s effort to fill a SCOTUS vacancy if the 83-year-old justice were to pass away after the GOP takes back the Senate.
Now Democrats are working to find Breyer’s replacement ASAP: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is aiming to get the whole confirmation process wrapped up within weeks, not months, according to the New York Times.
Off topic, but I’m glad Biden is our President.
I met Breyer at an event ca. 2000 and had a perfectly nice conversation with him. Good guy, very casual.
Never off topic, in my book.
This is kind of sloppy writing which is predetermining the outcome.
It should be “if the GOP takes back the Senate” or “in the event that the GOP takes back the Senate” not after.
I know it’s a minor peeve but writers should really not spin the outcome this way.
A critical foundational element of elections matter.
Were TFG still in office, this would be absolutely devastating and would bring us so much closer to the end of the Republic.