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Retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer paves the way for Biden to keep his commitment to nominate a black woman to the bench, the pair to hold an event at White House on Thursday, and lawmakers send a letter to Pelosi.
On Wednesday, reports emerged from anonymous sources that Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer plans to retire at the end of his current term, NBC reported.
Justice Breyer has yet to confirm an intention to retire himself. The White House said it had not formally received a letter from Breyer confirming such intentions.
Breyer, 83, has served on the bench for 27 years and is the oldest member of the Supreme Court. He joined the court in 1994 after being nominated to the court by former President Bill Clinton, CNBC reported. Breyer is one of three remaining liberal justices. Breyer is expected to step down at the end of the court’s current term.
President Biden is expected to take quick action to name a successor, so an appointee can be ready to serve when the next term begins on October 3.
President Joe Biden may have an opportunity to make good on his campaign vow. During the 2020 campaign, then-candidate Biden vowed that he would nominate a black woman to the Supreme Court if elected and an opportunity arose.
After reports emerged that Breyer was planning on retiring, the White House said that President Biden remains committed to his campaign promise of nominating the first black woman to the Supreme Court.
“[President Biden] has stated and reiterated his commitment to nominating a Black woman to the Supreme Court and certainly stands by that,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters during a news briefing on Wednesday, CNN reported.
President Joe Biden and Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer are scheduled to hold an event at the White House on Thursday, where the 83-year-old judge is expected to announce his retirement, sources told CNN.
A time and specific location for Thursday’s event has not yet been announced.
A group of 27 lawmakers in the house, led by Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine), have sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). The Hill reported that they want to quickly bring a bill to the floor for a vote that would ban lawmakers from trading stocks.
“There is no reason that members of Congress need to be allowed to trade stocks when we should be focused on doing our jobs and serving our constituents,” the letter stated.
“Perhaps this means some of our colleagues will miss out on lucrative investment opportunities. We don’t care,” the letter continued. “We came to Congress to serve our country, not turn a quick buck.”
“We understand that multiple bipartisan bills to ban members of Congress from owning or trading individual stocks have been introduced in the House,” the letter said. “However, hand wringing over which bill to advance should be no excuse for stalling a House floor vote on this issue,” with lawmakers adding that any differences between the various proposals can be resolved through amendments.
