Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer to retire – paving way for Biden’s first appointment
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is retiring, Fox News confirmed, setting President Biden up with his first opportunity to fill a vacancy on the high court.
Coverage for this event has ended.
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer's upcoming retirement will mark the first time a Democratic U.S. Senate has the chance to confirm a high-court justice in a post-nuclear-option world. The battle to replace him comes down to simple math.
In spring 2017, then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., detonated "Nuclear Option II" to lower the bar to confirm a Supreme Court justice. McConnell and Senate Republicans dropped the bar to end a filibuster from 60 years to a simple majority. Otherwise, former President Trump's nomination of Justice Neil Gorsuch would have faced a filibuster.
Republicans then confirmed Trump picks Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett for the court with the lower threshold to stave off filibusters. Notably, both Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, voted against breaking off debate on the nomination of Barrett because the nomination and vote dates fell so close to the 2020 presidential election. Collins ultimately voted nay on the nomination but Murkowski voted yes to confirm.
Never before had there been a filibuster of a Supreme Court nominee. However, back in the 1960s Justice Abe Fortas, already on the Supreme Court, faced a filibuster when President Lyndon Johnson nominated him to become chief justice. Fortas later resigned from the high court.
As we say, this is always about the math.
Click here to read more on Fox News
President Biden will soon be faced with the choice of whether to make good on a promise about the Supreme Court he made to Rep. Jim Clyburn's, D-S.C., to secure Clyburn's endorsement during the 2020 South Carolina primary.
After having performed poorly in Iowa and New Hampshire, Biden needed to win South Carolina in February 2020 if he hoped to have a shot at the Democratic nomination. Clyburn, the House majority whip and former chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, offered to endorse the faltering candidate but reportedly demanded that he make a public pledge to place a Black woman on the high court.
Click here to read more on Fox News
Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy discusses Biden’s reaction to announcement of Justice Breyer retiring on ‘Special Report.’
No Supreme Court justice wants his legacy to be erased and his life’s work reversed. Justice Stephen Breyer is no exception. In an interview with the New York Times last August, he ventured that it was perfectly acceptable for a sitting justice to time his retirement for purely political reasons.
Breyer had watched — likely with regret — as his close friend on the high court, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, rejected such considerations. When she died while still serving on the bench during a Republican presidency, the liberal justice was replaced by her polar opposite, Amy Coney Barrett. This further solidified conservative dominance of the court.
So, when word leaked on Wednesday that Breyer would retire at the end of this term in late June or early July, it was not all that surprising. His timing was politically propitious — intentionally so.
Click here to read more on Fox News
Speculation is running rampant on who President Biden will nominate to be the next Supreme Court justice following the retirement of liberal justice Stephen Breyer at the end of the court's term in June.
Some are speculating that Biden could nominate Kamala Harris to become the first Black female Supreme Court justice, after making history as the first female vice president.
While the idea may be far-fetched — and one the White House tried to squash Wednesday — there is a possibility, at least legally, that Biden could both fulfill his campaign promise of nominating a Black woman to the Supreme Court while also giving Harris a dignified exit from the 2024 Democratic ticket.
Click here to read more on Fox News
News of Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer's intention to retire comes after months of pressure from the left to hang up his robe in time for President Biden to name his replacement.
"There’s no question that Justice Breyer, for whom I have great respect, should retire at the end of this term," Rep. Mondaire Jones, D-N.Y., said last spring, just months after Biden took office. "My goodness, have we not learned our lesson?"
The lesson Jones was hoping Breyer had learned from was the story of the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who famously resisted calls to retire during former President Barack Obama's tenure, opening the door for former President Donald Trump to choose her replacement upon her death in 2020.
Click here to read more on Fox News
News of Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer's retirement has prompted a flurry of names being circulated as possible replacements, with some progressives pushing for civil rights lawyer Sherrilyn Ifill, who has advocated for the "defund the police" movement in the past.
Since the news broke Wednesday morning that Breyer is retiring, progressive Democrats have been calling on President Biden to make good on his campaign promise to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court.
".@POTUS you promised us a Black woman on the Supreme Court," Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., tweeted, using the handle for President Biden's account. "Let’s see it happen."
Click here to read more on Fox News
Fox News congressional correspondent Chad Pergram has Capitol Hill's reaction to the news of Justice Stephen Breyer's retirement on 'Your World.'
Republicans are gearing up for a Supreme Court confirmation battle after Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement plans were leaked on Wednesday.
The upcoming Supreme Court showdown in the 50-50 Senate will happen after Breyer steps down at the end of the court’s term early this summer.
Senate Republicans and conservative political groups are preparing to push back against what they fear could be a progressive nominee from President Biden.
Click here to read more on Fox News
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer announced Wednesday that he would retire, freeing up one seat on the nation's highest court for President Biden to nominate a replacement while the U.S. Senate remains in Democratic hands.
Here's the process for nominating and confirming Breyer's successor.
In the coming weeks, President Biden will nominate a candidate to replace Breyer. He has pledged to nominate a Black female to the Court.
In the lead-up to the announcement, the White House will compile a list of candidates and Biden will likely interview them. Activist groups will lobby the White House to encourage Biden to pick a favorable candidate.
Click here to read more on Fox News.
Shannon Bream provides insight on who could take Breyer's seat on the Supreme Court after his retirement on ' Your World.'
When Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer steps down from the nation's highest court – as Fox News has been told he intends to do at the end of the court's current term – his departure will end the influence of former President Bill Clinton on the court.
Clinton, who served two terms as president, 1993-2001, named two justices to the court during his time in office: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who served on the court from August 1993 until her death at age 87 in September 2020, and Breyer, 83, whom Clinton nominated in May 1994 and who joined the court in August of that year.
Breyer's nomination followed the retirement of former Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun, an appointee of former President Richard Nixon who had served on the court since 1970.
Click here to read more on Fox News
“Justice Breyer has faithfully served our nation’s judicial system for more than four decades, earning a reputation as an impartial and evenhanded arbiter of the law. Recently, Justice Breyer has defended the Supreme Court as an institution and fought to maintain public trust in the judiciary. I have disagreed with his rulings many times over the years, but I maintain deep respect for his steadfast commitment to the rule of law and the integrity of our judicial system.”
“I thank Justice Breyer for his devoted service to our country and wish him and his family a happy and well-deserved retirement.”
“There will be immense pressure from the radical left to replace Justice Breyer with a partisan who will legislate from the bench, and I hope President Biden will not cave to their demands the way he has on nearly everything else over the past year. President Biden should honor the legacy of Justice Breyer and nominate another experienced jurist who respects the current structure and limited role of the Supreme Court.”
“Whoever the President nominates will be treated fairly and with the dignity and respect someone of his or her caliber deserves, something not afforded to Justice Kavanaugh and other Republican nominees in the past.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki Wednesday affirmed President Biden's promise to nominate a Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer.
"The president has stated and reiterated his commitment to nominating a Black woman to the Supreme Court and certainly stands by that," Psaki said during the daily press briefing. Psaki said the president "stands by" his former remarks.
During a February 2020 Democratic debate, Biden promised to nominate a Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court. "We talked about the Supreme Court — I’m looking forward to making sure there’s a Black woman on the Supreme Court to make sure we in fact get everyone represented," Biden said at the time.
Click here to read more on Fox News
Media analysts on CNN and MSNBC agreed Wednesday that liberal Justice Stephen Breyer's retirement would allow President Biden a chance to make history and appoint the first Black woman to the Supreme Court, and restore his embattled administration's tattered image.
Breyer, 83, is retiring, Fox News confirmed Wednesday. A source close to Breyer told Fox News that the justice will step down at the end of the current Supreme Court term early this summer.
Pundits largely agreed that while a new Biden appointee would not change the ideological makeup of the court, it could serve as a symbolic and historic moment for the president and a much-needed boost to Biden's image. The president has been overwhelmed by crises the past several months, including the fallout over the exit of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and dueling economic crises, all of which have led to his low poll numbers and a number of progressive media distancing themselves from the commander in chief.
Click here to read more on Fox News
Sen Manchin on Breyer retirement: “Justice Breyer has dedicated much of his life to upholding the rule of law and we are grateful for his service. I wish him a happy and fulfilling retirement. I take my Constitutional responsibility to advise and consent on a nominee to the Supreme Court very seriously. I look forward to meeting with and evaluating the qualifications of President Biden’s nominee to fill this Supreme Court vacancy.”
Panel weighs in on Justice Breyer's decision to retire at the end of his Supreme Court term on 'The Story.'
Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida predicted that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., will whip the Senate Democrats behind a "radical liberal with extremist views" to replace outgoing Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.
Scott, the National Republican Senatorial Conference (NRSC) chairman, made the prediction in a Wednesday press release after Breyer’s retirement reveal.
"The Democrats know they will lose the Senate majority in 2022," Scott wrote. "I predict that Chuck Schumer and whoever is running the White House will force all Democrats to obey and walk the plank in support of a radical liberal with extremist views."
Click here to read more on Fox News
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is retiring at the end of the current term later this summer. Who could President Biden nominate to take his place?
This list, compiled from a number of sources, reveals some potential picks. White House administrations quickly begin compiling an informal list of possible court nominees to consider in the event of a sudden vacancy. But serious vetting only begins when such a vacancy occurs or is announced in advance by the retiring or deceased justice.
Click here to read more on Fox News
Garrett Ventry, former media adviser to Neil Gorsuch, predicts a 'long, grueling process' in the effort to replace Justice Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court
Judicial Crisis Network President Carrie Severino says Justice Stephen Breyer was facing pressure from the 'dark money left' to step down from the Supreme Court.
Members of the progressive "Squad" have quickly responded to news of Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer's retirement by calling for a Black woman to take his place.
"It is past time for a Black woman to be named to the Supreme Court," Rep. Cori Bush, R-Mo., tweeted on Wednesday.
Fellow "Squad"-mate Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., similarly reminded President Biden of his pledge to nominate a Black woman.
".@POTUS you promised us a Black woman on the Supreme Court," he tweeted, using the handle for President Biden's account. "Let’s see it happen."
Click here to read more on Fox News
“Evaluating Supreme Court nominees is an important constitutional duty, and one that I take seriously as a U.S. Senator. I will carefully consider President Biden’s nominee according to their experience and ability to make unbiased decisions based on the text and original meaning of our Constitution, not on their personal opinions." – Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.)
A source close to Justice Breyer told Fox News: “This was an authentic decision for him—and done on his own terms yet with a pragmatic understanding of the world as it is. He is the 23rd longest serving Justice and has had a great opportunity to serve his country for the good.”
"The president has stated and reiterated his commitment to nominating a black woman to the Supreme Court and certainly stands by that for today," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday. "Again, I'm just not going to be able to say anything about any specifics until, of course, Justice Breyer makes any announcement should he decide to make an announcement."
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer Wednesday promised that President Biden's pick to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer will be confirmed "with all deliberate speed," as Congress braces for yet another Supreme Court clash.
"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," Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a Wednesday statement.
Breyer is set to step down at the end of the current Supreme Court term, according to a source close to the justice. This gives Biden until the early summer to choose his successor then allows the Senate another approximately six months to confirm that person before the new Congress starts in Jan. 2023.
Click here to read more on Fox News.
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is retiring, Fox News confirmed, setting President Biden up with the first opportunity to fill a vacancy on the high court.
A source close to Breyer told Fox News that the justice will step down at the end of the current Supreme Court term early this summer.
Breyer, who is 83, has been the subject of rampant speculation about his retirement. Liberal activists were calling for the justice to retire soon after Biden was inaugurated. Sources close to Breyer, however, said the justice made the decision on his own terms and was not forced out.
Click here to read more on Fox News
Live Coverage begins here