By Emmanuel Nduka
Supreme Court Justice, Stephen Breyer is due for retirement, and President Joe Biden may have to fulfil his pledge to fill the vacancy by naming the first Black woman to the head of the court, the Associated Press reports.
“As president, I’d be honoured to appoint the first African American woman. Because it should look like the country. It’s long past time,” Biden pledged in February 2020.
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 and left of centre.
The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity so as not to preempt Breyer’s eventual announcement.
Breyer who was appointed by former President Bill Clinton, has been a justice since 1994.
Along with the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Breyer opted not to step down the last time the Democrats controlled the White House and the Senate during Barack Obama’s presidency.
Ginsburg died in September 2020, and 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 and almost certainly confirmed by a Senate where Democrats have the slimmest majority.
This also makes conservative Justice Clarence Thomas the oldest member of the court at 73.
