After nearly 28 years on the Supreme Court, Justice Stephen Breyer will retire, giving President Joe Biden his first opportunity to fill a seat on the nation’s highest court.
Breyer was a skilled dealmaker, and his tenure on the Supreme Court represented one of the few remaining bridges to an era when meaningful bipartisan consensus was possible and personal relationships could sometimes overcome the drive for partisan advantage.
With Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death in September 2020 — and her replacement with the conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett — Breyer leaves the Court with a 6-3 conservative majority, one that shows far less inclination toward compromise than the Court Breyer served on for most of his time as a justice.
Democrats control both the White House and a narrow majority in the Senate. This retirement is the party’s first real chance to fill a Supreme Court seat in more than a decade — and its first shot since Senate Republicans blocked President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland, from receiving a hearing in 2016.
Retiring Justice Stephen Breyer’s nearly 28 years on the Supreme Court, explained
Justice Stephen Breyer is retiring from the Supreme Court. Pete Marovich/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesJustice Stephen Breyer, the Supreme Court’s oldest member and one of its three remaining liberals, will retire at the end of the Court’s current term, giving President Joe Biden his first opportunity to fill a seat on the nation’s highest court.
With Democrats controlling both the White House and a narrow majority in the Senate, this retirement is the party’s first real chance to fill a Supreme Court seat in more than a decade — and its first shot since Senate Republicans blocked former President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland, from receiving a hearing in 2016.
Read Article >Who is on Biden’s shortlist to replace retiring Justice Breyer?
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer speaks alongside President Joe Biden during a retirement ceremony at the White House on January 27. Breyer, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton, has been on the court since 1994. Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesWith Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement opening a seat on the Supreme Court, President Joe Biden has a chance to fulfill a campaign promise to name a Black woman to the Court for the first time.
Only two African Americans, Justices Thurgood Marshall and Clarence Thomas, have served on the nation’s highest court, and only one woman of color has been a justice — Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who is Latina. And Black women aren’t just unrepresented on the Supreme Court, they are also massively underrepresented on the federal bench. And they were even more so before Biden took office.
Read Article >Democrats have precedent for a speedy Supreme Court confirmation
Members of the Supreme Court pose for a group photo in Washington, DC in April 2021. Erin Schaff/Getty ImagesIn the wake of reports that Justice Stephen Breyer is retiring, the Senate now has another major agenda item to contend with in the coming months: a Supreme Court confirmation process.
That task joins a long list of priorities: Democrats have to pass a bill on government funding by February 18 in order to avoid a government shutdown; they are trying to complete work on an update to the Electoral Count Act and a bill aimed at increasing the US’s competitiveness with China in the next few weeks; and they hope to restart talks on their massive climate and social spending initiative, the Build Back Better Act, in time to pass at least part of it before the 2022 midterms.
Read Article >Stephen Breyer’s retirement puts the spotlight on Joe Manchin — again
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) speaks to reporters outside of his office on Capitol Hill on January 4, 2022, in Washington, DC. Anna Moneymaker/GettyAs furious as Democrats might be at Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), they really do still need him.
Justice Stephen Breyer’s reported decision to retire from the Supreme Court sets up a high-stakes Senate confirmation battle to succeed him. And Democrats’ bare 50 vote majority in the chamber means they’ll have to go back, hat in hand, to Manchin.
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