Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer will announce his retirement today. Breyer is one of the few reliable “liberal justices” left on the court. He was appointed in 1994 by Bill Clinton, and he is 83 years old. Chances are pretty good that Breyer probably had some good years left in on the court, but he absolutely wanted to retire during a Democratic administration, when there was a better chance of getting a replacement through the Senate. It is believed that President Obama wanted Ruth Bader Ginsburg to retire during his administration so he could be the one to appoint a replacement. RBG refused, and her passing in 2020 led to Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell shoving through Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination in a matter of weeks before the 2020 election. Breyer doesn’t want a repeat of that.
Justice Stephen G. Breyer, the senior member of the Supreme Court’s three-member liberal wing and a persistent if often frustrated advocate of consensus as the court moved sharply to the right, will retire upon the confirmation of his successor, people familiar with the decision said, providing President Biden a chance to fulfill his pledge to nominate a Black woman.
Mr. Biden is expected to formally announce the retirement at the White House on Thursday, but the partisan machinery that has built up in recent decades around Supreme Court confirmations was already swinging into action on Wednesday as word of Justice Breyer’s decision raced through Washington.
Thank you for your service, Justice Breyer. And thank you for at least trying to do the right thing and retire during a Democratic administration. People are already upset that this nomination is going to be a sh-tshow because of the timing. Peeps, it was always going to be a sh-tshow, no matter when Breyer retired. I’m glad he’s doing it now and not closer to the midterm elections.
One of the best takes on this was basically: Breyer knows the sh-t is about to hit the fan and he wants to get out while the getting is good. It’s true – the 2021/2022 SCOTUS decisions won’t come out until (most likely) June. Meaning, in June, we’ll have the decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, the case in which SCOTUS will likely overturn Roe v. Wade. We literally told everyone that the Supreme Court was at stake in 2016 and millions of people were like “but her emails!!!!”
I, too, would start writing my resignation letter and airing out my Paris apartment if I saw the draft Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health majority opinion.
— Gautam Hans (@dispositive) January 26, 2022
Democrats should replace Breyer with four new justices https://t.co/UcTBVPnIJ1
— Jordan Zakarin (@jordanzakarin) January 26, 2022
Photos courtesy of Instar, Avalon Red and Backgrid.
-
- -Washington, District of Columbia – 20210423-Supreme Court of the United States 2021 Group Photo Members of the Supreme Court pose for a group photo at the Supreme Court in Washington, DC on April 23, 2021. Seated from left: Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., Justice Stephen G. Breyer, and Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Justice Elena Kagan, Justice Neil M. Gorsuch and Justice Amy Coney Barrett. -PICTURED: Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., Justice Stephen G. Breyer, and Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Justice Elena Kagan, Justice Neil M. Gorsuch and Justice Amy Coney Barrett -PHOTO by: Erin Schaff/POOL/CNP/startraksphoto.com -042321_Supreme-Court-Pool_016 This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact Startraks Photo for licensing fee and rights information at sales@startraksphoto.com or call +1 212 414 9464 This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. Startraks Photo reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded
-
- Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Clarence Thomas waits to administer the oath of office to Judge Amy Coney Barrett to be Associate Justice of the Supreme Court on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC on Monday, October 26, 2020. US President Donald J. Trump and her husband Jesse M. Barrett look on.,Image: 565706222, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: usage worldwide, Model Release: no, Credit line: Chris Kleponis / DPA Picture Alliance / Avalon
-
- Washington, DC – Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Clarence Thomas administers the oath of office to Judge Amy Coney Barrett to be Associate Justice of the Supreme Court on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC. Pictured: President Donald J. Trump, Amy Coney Barrett BACKGRID USA 26 OCTOBER 2020 BYLINE MUST READ: MediaPunch / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
-
- Washington, DC – Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Clarence Thomas administers the oath of office to Judge Amy Coney Barrett to be Associate Justice of the Supreme Court on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC. Pictured: President Donald J. Trump, Amy Coney Barrett, Clarence Thomas BACKGRID USA 26 OCTOBER 2020 BYLINE MUST READ: MediaPunch / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
-
- Washington, DC – Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Clarence Thomas administers the oath of office to Judge Amy Coney Barrett to be Associate Justice of the Supreme Court on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC. Pictured: President Donald J. Trump, Amy Coney Barrett BACKGRID USA 26 OCTOBER 2020 BYLINE MUST READ: MediaPunch / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
-
- -Washington, District of Columbia – 20210423-Supreme Court of the United States 2021 Group Photo Members of the Supreme Court pose for a group photo at the Supreme Court in Washington, DC on April 23, 2021. Seated from left: Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., Justice Stephen G. Breyer, and Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Justice Elena Kagan, Justice Neil M. Gorsuch and Justice Amy Coney Barrett. -PICTURED: Justice Stephen G. Breyer -PHOTO by: Erin Schaff/POOL/CNP/startraksphoto.com -042321_Supreme-Court-Pool_026 This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact Startraks Photo for licensing fee and rights information at sales@startraksphoto.com or call +1 212 414 9464 This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. Startraks Photo reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded
He’s doing the right thing giving his seat to Biden. It doesn’t change the balance of the court but it’s too risky to gamble on the next administration. RBD did that. She was a truly amazing human in every way, but she held on to give her seat to Madam President and that gamble ended disastrously. I hate that for her legacy and for all of us. But we can’t risk that again. Thank you Justice Breyer.
RBD was amazing for white women. There are many examples of her racism. Not resigning during Obama’s administration says a lot.
By the time Obama talked to RBG, O Connell was already long in control, approving nobody. O Connell has crowed over it. It turned out to be naive to think OConnell would allow a vote.
Like Kaiser, I am just grateful that judge Breyer is retiring now. I am so grateful for Stacy Abrams and for the two democratic senate seats won in GA.
RBG didn’t want to retire because she was afraid that Mitch McConnell would hold up nominating a new justice…and that’s exactly what he did with Garland/Gorsuch. She also wanted to retire under a female president. We were screwed either way. Biden, in theory, has a democratic senate (barely, and not really), so now was the time for Breyer to retire. We’ll see what evil Sinema and Manchin devise though, as they line their pockets with blood money, along with all the other Republicans.
Thank you, Justice Breyer, for your many years of service to our country.
RBG’s legacy will be forever damaged by her selfish decision to remain in office. Stephen Breyer is doing the right thing.
Oh snap. I tried to say that so much more delicately above but I was feeling angry even as I typed. She could never have predicted how bad it would get. None of us did. But the responsibility of a lifetime appointment includes a strategic retirement.
Had she retired, MCConnell would have done the exact same thing with Obama’s nominee for her seat as he did with Obama’s nomination for Scalia’s seat. That was actually happening when she would have given her notice in 2016.
She should have retired during Obama’s first damn term when he had the senate. So, no. There’s no excuses for why this woman chose to undermine the civil rights of millions beyond her own damn ego.
Thank you LP. I read the blame on RBG too often without the true backstory.
Biden needs to pack the court asap.
This should appear above, where RBG was blamed for the loss of a seat.
By the time Obama talked to RBG, O Connell was already long in control, approving nobody. O Connell has crowed over it. It turned out to be naive to think OConnell would allow a vote.
I agree, but you know Manchin and the other one (can’t even stand to type her name, I hate her so much right now) won’t go for it because they’re mavericks, or whatever. I don’t like Manchin either but to be fair he is a Democrat in a state that went for Trump by 30 points.
Worst case scenario : Dems lose the house in the mid terms, what happens to Biden’s nominee then? Will never get approved right? Or am I being paranoid?
This is why the timing is good. There is precedent for confirming a new justice while a current justice (Breyer) is still serving. From what I’ve read, the plan is to lock in the confirmation hearing by this summer while we still have a majority (kind of, sort of, not really) so that a new justice will have been confirmed before the midterms in case we don’t pick up more seats.
I doubt this will happen but Clarence’s Thomas’ seditious wife Ginni is coming under more scrutiny. Depending on what happens, I’m hoping that there is a way to force him to retire to avoid the reckoning that is about to rain down on her traitorous Karen ass in the courts (but probably not).
Another positive sign is that Biden has been confirming a lot of new justices that are black/POC/women, etc. to the lower courts who will have a big impact on the challenges to our democracy to come. They’ve all been confirmed (as far as I know) so as much as the Republicans may try, Biden will get his new justice.
The house has nothing to do with Supreme Court justices, they are confirmed by the Senate.
Praise Jiminy Christmas. My gawd. Probably the best political news I’ll hear all year.
Just here to state I am still mad about Merrick Garland.