U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, one of the three liberal-wing justices, announces that he will be stepping down as SCOTUS.
The decision made by the senior member of the Supreme Court's left-wing was announced Wednesday morning, though a formal announcement by Breyer is expected to take place at the White House tomorrow, Thursday, January 27.
Breyer, 83, is currently the oldest member sitting in the Supreme Court, resulting in a 28-year career on the court since being appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1994.
After the passing of legendary Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in September of 2020, and President Donald Trump's eventual appointment of Justice Amy Coney Barrett, many liberals were hoping the 83-year-old would step down from SCOTUS to secure a liberal successor while Democrats have control of the U.S. Senate.
Justice Breyer has taken pride in sticking to his principles and committed to the rule of law, rather than a political party through a biased approach.
“My experience of more than 30 years as a judge has shown me that, once men and women take the judicial oath, they take the oath to heart,” Breyer said last year at Harvard Law School lecture. “They are loyal to the rule of law, not to the political party that helped to secure their appointment.”
And as for the future, President Biden has vowed to appoint a Black woman to the Supreme Court if he was elected President, which he is now. This promise from Biden was made at a primary debate in February of 2020, which provided a spark of excitement to the Democrat's progressive wing of the party.
“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,” then Democrat candidate Biden said at a primary debate.
There's been speculation of several possible Black women candidates to take over Justice Breyer's seat in the court, including the following:
-
DC Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson
-
California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger
-
South Carolina US District Court Judge J. Michelle Childs and more…
President Biden is expected to act quickly on nominating Breyer's successor to the court, someone that is immediately ready to serve as soon as the court's new term goes underway on October 3.
