Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is retiring after more than 2 decades on the bench … and the timing is certainly significant, and the path to his replacement will be fascinating.
Justice Breyer was appointed to the Supreme Court way back in 1994 by President Bill Clinton, and there was mounting pressure from Democrats for him to step aside for some new blood.
From the outside, it certainly appears Democrats learned lessons from the Ruth Bader Ginsburg situation … with RBG not stepping down when a Democrat was in office as she grew older, ultimately leading to Donald Trump‘s hand-picked replacement … Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
The timing of Breyer’s retirement is interesting … the midterm elections are looming and there’s a possibility the Democrats could lose their slim majority in the Senate, which would make confirming a new Justice nearly impossible.
Republicans have made clear their intentions to block any potential candidate put forward by President Joe Biden, if the GOP wins back a Senate majority in the midterms.
The Democrats hold the majority in the House and Senate, so look for President Biden to push through a replacement for Justice Breyer rather quickly.
Stay tuned …