Supreme Court retirement decision
Joe Biden is about to lose his mind over this surprising Supreme Court retirement decision
Democrats spent four years fuming about Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nomination.
They are about to get some worse news.
Joe Biden is about to lose his mind over this surprising Supreme Court retirement decision.
82-year-old Stephen Breyer is the oldest Justice on the Supreme Court.
Bill Clinton appointed Breyer in the 1990s, and now leftists are demanding Breyer step down so Joe Biden can nominate a younger replacement.
But Justice Breyer is resisting those calls.
Breyer recently delivered a lecture at Harvard where Breyer warned that the Supreme Court would lose legitimacy if the judges were associated with the political parties that nominated and confirmed them.
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 told the audience. “They are loyal to the rule of law, not to the political party that helped to secure their appointment.”
“If the public sees judges as politicians in robes,” Breyer added, “its confidence in the courts, and in the rule of law itself, can only diminish, diminishing the court’s power.”
Supreme Court justices tend to stage strategic retirements so the President from the party that nominated them picks their successor.
Democrats’ worst fears were realized when Ruth Bader Ginsburg did not retire after Barack Obama won re-election, and Donald Trump ended up picking her successor.
Justice Breyer looks like he is staying on to the next term so that his retirement isn’t looked at like a political favor to Joe Biden.
Breyer also hopes this decision will provide political cover for his replacement so the public will not look at whomever Biden selects as a committed foot soldier in the left-wing cause.
But Democrats also worry Breyer is playing fast and loose with reality.
Democrats only have 50 seats in the Senate and they could lose their majority on a moment’s notice.
If a surprise retirement or health issue leaves Democrats with only 49 Senators, then Senate Republicans may block any Biden nominee through the 2024 election in hopes the Republican challenger knocks off Biden.
