Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is planning to retire this year, according to multiple news reports.
Breyer, 83, reportedly informed President Joe Biden about his retirement plans, although he was not planning to announce his retirement on January 26, according to Fox News anchor Shannon Bream. The Supreme Court has yet to issue an official statement on the matter.
Multiple sources tell me Justice Breyer was not planning to announce his retirement today. They describe him as "upset" with how this has played out. We still await any official notice from his office and/or the #SCOTUS public information office.
— Shannon Bream (@ShannonBream) January 26, 2022
It is believed that Breyer will retire in June, after the latest round of Supreme Court cases are finished, according to National Public Radio (NPR). “His decision to remain for another year was likely due in large part to the major issues the court was about to confront—abortion, guns, separation of church and state, and potentially affirmative action,” the NPR report stated. “These are all matters that he has strong feelings about.”
Biden vowed during the 2020 presidential campaign to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court; White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a January 26 press briefing that Biden “stands by” that pledge. Biden said during a January 26 event that he would discuss the matter at a later time. The frontrunners are believed to be Washington, D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, 51, and California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger, according to NPR. Another potential candidate is South Carolina District Court Judge J. Michelle Childs, Politico reported.
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) said in a statement, “President Biden’s nominee will receive a prompt hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee, and will be considered and confirmed by the full United States Senate with all deliberate speed.”
Breyer was appointed in 1994 by then-President Bill Clinton to replace Justice Harry Blackmun. Prior to that, he served as chief justice of the First Circuit Court of Appeals and was an assistant prosecutor in the Watergate investigation, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. Jewish Telegraphic Agency’s Ron Kampeas noted that Breyer’s retirement would leave Elena Kagan as the last Jewish justice on the Supreme Court.
