Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer confirmed that he will retire at the end of the high court's current term.
The retirement, first reported by NBC News, comes after a year of calls from liberals for him to step down to allow President Joe Biden to appoint a younger replacement while Democrats still have a majority in the Senate.
In a letter to the president, Breyer said he would step down at the end of the current court term "assuming that by then my successor has been nominated and confirmed," appearing to condition his retirement on a swift nomination and confirmation for his successor.
"I have found the work challenging and meaningful," Breyer wrote of his time in the judiciary, close to three decades on the Supreme Court and another 14 years on lower federal courts. "Throughout, I have been aware of the great honor of participating as a judge in the effort to maintain our Constitution and the rule of law."
Biden, appearing with Breyer at the White House on Thursday, praised the justice's long career and said he would name a replacement before the end of February.
"The person I will nominate will be someone of extraordinary qualifications, character, experience, and integrity," he said. "And that person will be the first Black woman ever nominated to the United States Supreme Court. It's long overdue, in my view."
Breyer's retirement sets up a confirmation fight in the Senate later this year. Biden will have his first, and perhaps only, chance to nominate a liberal justice to the high court as the reality of a 6-to-3 conservative majority sets in.
President Bill Clinton appointed Breyer to the high court in 1994. In his nearly three decades on the court, Breyer has been a consistent member of the court's liberal wing.
More recently, he has been outspoken on the state of the nation's politics and how it could threaten the Supreme Court. He even wrote a book about it, "The Authority of the Court and the Peril of Politics," in which he warns the political polarization seen today could undermine public confidence in the court.
Breyer maintains, though, that the current court is not captured by political interests.
"Political groups may favor a particular appointment," he wrote in the book, "but once appointed, a judge naturally decides a case in the way that he or she believes the law demands. It is a judge's sworn duty to be impartial, and all of us take that oath seriously."
Breyer's commentary on the court led many on the Democratic Party's left flank and in liberal legal circles to increase their calls for his retirement.
Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y. 17th District) became the first member of Congress to call on Breyer to retire in an interview with Cheddar News last year.
"There is no question that Justice Breyer, for whom I have great respect, should retire at the end of this term," Jones told Cheddar. "My goodness, have we not learned our lesson?"
The midterm elections in November loom large in the minds of Democrats. The president's party tends to lose congressional seats in midterm elections. With an even 50-50 split in the Senate, Biden has a tight window to get his nominee through a chamber where he may not have a majority come November.
Democrats did not want a repeat of the fallout that came after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death. Ginsburg's passing near the end of the Trump presidency cleared the path for Senate Republicans to nominate and confirm Justice Amy Coney Barrett before the 2020 election, creating the conservative majority of today and that, given the age of the most recent appointees, will likely persist for decades.
Breyer's retirement assuages those fears. It will not, however, change the ideological direction of the court, given the size of the conservative majority.
On the campaign trail Biden had promised that he would appoint a Black woman to the Court.
The commitment came at the urging of House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C. 6th District), whose endorsement in the 2020 South Carolina Democratic primary was key in reviving Biden's chances after disappointing showings in Iowa and New Hampshire. Clyburn has since revealed he pressed Biden on the issue before his endorsement.
The clear frontrunner to replace Breyer is Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, who currently serves on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, considered the second-highest court in the land.
In the past, presidents have looked to the D.C. Circuit for potential Supreme Court nominees. Of the current justices, both Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh served on the D.C. Circuit before being elevated to the Supreme Court.
Biden could look to do the same with Brown Jackson. In addition to her current position, she has other traits presidents often seek in their Supreme Court appointments. She has nearly a decade of experience as a federal judge, both at the district and appellate levels. She also attended Harvard University for college and law school, and she began her legal career with three clerkships, including one under Justice Breyer.
Regardless of who replaces Breyer, Biden will have to navigate a slim majority in which any Democratic senator could derail the entire confirmation process.
So far, though, Democrats have remained in Biden's corner when it comes to the judiciary. The Senate has confirmed 42 of Biden's 81 nominees to the federal bench, the most in the first year of a presidency since Ronald Reagan.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement commending Breyer that Biden's pick to fill the seat will have a smooth and quick confirmation process.
"President Biden's nominee will receive a prompt hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee and will be considered and confirmed by the full United States Senate with all deliberate speed," he said.
Updated on January 27, 2022, at 1:32 p.m. ET with President Biden and Justice Stephen Breyer's press conference.
