WASHINGTON (AP) — Liberal Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is retiring, giving President Joe Biden an opening he has pledged to fill by naming the first Black woman to the high court.
Breyer, 83, has been a pragmatic force on a court that has grown increasingly conservative in recent years, trying to forge majorities with more moderate justices right & left of center.
Breyer has been a justice since 1994, appointed by President Bill Clinton. Along with the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Breyer opted not to step down the last time the Democrats controlled the White House & the Senate during Barack Obama’s presidency. Ginsburg died in September 2020 & then-President Donald Trump filled the vacancy with a conservative justice, Amy Coney Barrett.
Breyer’s departure, expected over the summer, won’t change the 6-3 conservative advantage on the court because his replacement will be nominated by Biden & almost certainly confirmed by a Senate where Democrats have the slimmest majority.
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 & U.S. District Judge Michelle Childs.
Biden has been focused on filling federal judicial nominations with a more diverse group of judges & the Supreme Court has not been top of mind during his first year in office. A decision on a nominee has not been made yet, & is expected to take a few weeks. But Biden has expanded his pool of applicants by naming more Black women to the bench.
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