Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is slated to appear at the White House with President Joe Biden on Thursday to officially announce his plan to step down at the end of the high court’s term this summer, according to CNN, NBC News and the Associated Press.
Reports of Breyer’s impending retirement broke on Wednesday, though the justice himself has yet to publicly reveal his decision. Biden and the White House have been keeping a tight lip on the blockbuster development, refusing to comment until Breyer makes an announcement.
“Let him make whatever statement he’s going to make, and I’ll be happy to talk about it later,” Biden told reporters on Wednesday.
However, White House press secretary Jen Psaki did reiterate during a press briefing Biden’s vow to appoint a Black female justice to the court.
Breyer’s retirement comes as extremely welcome news to many Democrats and activists, who’d been biting their nails over the (not unlikely) possibility of Republicans hijacking Biden’s effort to fill a SCOTUS vacancy if the 83-year-old justice were to pass away after the GOP takes back the Senate.
Now Democrats are working to find Breyer’s replacement ASAP: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is aiming to get the whole confirmation process wrapped up within weeks, not months, according to the New York Times.
