AP Sources: Justice Breyer To Retire; Biden To Fill Vacancy

Liberal Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is retiring, giving President Joe Biden an opening he has pledged to fill by naming the first Black woman to the high court, two sources told The Associated Press Wednesday.

Wednesday, January 26th 2022, 12:22 pm

By: Associated Press

Liberal Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is retiring, giving President Joe Biden an opening he has pledged to fill by naming the first Black woman to the high court, two sources told The Associated Press Wednesday.

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 center.

The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity so as not to preempt Breyer’s eventual announcement. NBC first reported the justice’s plans.

Breyer has been a justice since 1994, appointed by President Bill Clinton. 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.

Our Washington D.C. Bureau Chief Alex Cameron is covering this story for News 9 and News On 6. Details developing.