U.S. Sen. Robert Casey, reacting to the reported retirement of Supreme Court Justice, said Wednesday that Breyer has devoted his life to making the nation “a fairer and better place for all Americans.”
A longtime liberal justice, Breyer is stepping down this summer, numerous sources said Wednesday, giving President Joe Biden his first high court opening. Biden has pledged to fill the court position with the historic naming of the court’s first Black woman.
The Associated Press reported that Breyer, 83, has been a pragmatic force on a court that has grown increasingly conservative, trying to forge majorities with more moderate justices right and left of center. His retirement will give Biden the chance to name and win confirmation of a replacement before next fall’s election when Republicans could retake the Senate and block future nominees.
Casey, D-Pa., said of Breyer, “Pragmatic in his decision-making, he worked to build consensus among the court while standing up for what he believed was right, including protecting Americans’ access to health care through the Affordable Care Act. I thank him for his nearly three decades of service on the Supreme Court and wish him well in his retirement.
On Biden’s professed intention to name a Black woman to the court, Casey said the nation is better off when its institutions represent the diversity of the American people.
“I’m encouraged that President Biden has reaffirmed his commitment to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court and I look forward to meeting with his nominee,” the senator said.
Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., did not react publicly to the Breyer news.
AP reported that Democrats are planning a swift confirmation, perhaps even before Breyer officially steps down, which is not expected before summer.
He has been a justice since 1994, appointed by President Bill Clinton. Along with the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, he opted not to step down the last time the Democrats controlled the White House and the Senate during Barack Obama’s presidency. Ginsburg died in September 2020, and then-President Donald Trump filled the vacancy with a conservative justice, Amy Coney Barrett.
Breyer’s departure won’t change the 6-3 conservative advantage on the court because his replacement will almost certainly be confirmed by a Senate where Democrats have the slimmest majority. It will make conservative Justice Clarence Thomas the oldest member of the court. Thomas turns 74 in June.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said 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.” A White House decision on a nominee could take several weeks, Biden aides and allies said.
Republicans who changed the Senate rules during the Trump era to allow simple majority confirmation of Supreme Court nominees appeared resigned to the outcome.
Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a Republican who previously chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a statement: “If all Democrats hang together – which I expect they will – they have the power to replace Justice Breyer in 2022 without one Republican vote in support.”
Liberal interest groups expressed relief. They have been clamoring for Breyer’s retirement, concerned about confirmation troubles if Republicans retake the Senate.
“Justice Breyer’s retirement is coming not a moment too soon, but now we must make sure our party remains united in support of confirming his successor,” Demand Justice Executive Director Brian Fallon said.
Among the names being circulated as potential nominees are California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger, U.S. Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, prominent civil rights lawyer Sherrilyn Ifill and U.S. District Judge Michelle Childs, whom Biden has nominated to be an appeals court judge. Childs is a favorite of Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., who made a crucial endorsement of Biden just before South Carolina’s presidential primary in 2020.
