Supreme Court Justice Breyer to Retire, According to Reports

Supreme Court Justice Breyer to Retire, According to Reports

United States Supreme Court Justice Stephen Bryer is retiring, according to multiple news outlets. 

A Liberal, Bryer has served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States since 1994. He was nominated by President Bill Clinton, and replaced retiring justice Harry Blackmun. 

What’s next, reports Axios: 

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Appointing a new Supreme Court justice will be one of the longest-lasting pieces of Biden’s legacy — and could give Democrats a jolt of energy ahead of next year's midterms.

Axios continues: 

Why it matters: Breyer, who is 83, faced considerable pressure to step aside under a Democratic president and while Democrats control the Senate, even narrowly.

* Breyer’s retirement won’t help Democrats gain much more power on the court, where conservatives now hold a 6-3 majority. But it will help them avoid losing any more of what little power they have.

* And a new justice could alter the court’s approach to some issues, particularly criminal justice, where Breyer was often deferential to law enforcement.

Who we’re watching: Ketanji Brown Jackson, a judge on the powerful D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, and Leondra Kruger, a justice on the California Supreme Court, are widely seen as the front-runners to replace Breyer.