by Brayden Yee
After 27 years on the Supreme Court, Stephen Breyer, Associate Justice and the senior member of the liberal wing, has announced that he is retiring at the end of the current term in October.
The decision marks the first, and possibly only, time when Biden will get to make a nomination to the Supreme Court. With Breyer generally associated with the liberal faction, his replacement will likely not affect the balance of political positions on the Supreme Court.
Biden has stated that Breyer’s replacement will be the first African American woman on the Supreme Court, and there have been many speculations regarding who will replace him. Biden stated that having an African American woman was long overdue and aims to appoint one who can honor the legacy of Justice Breyer.
A list of speculative nominees has floated around, with many of the potential nominees being young and from areas where important senators reside.
On the contrary, Biden may not be able to appoint a Justice at all before 2024. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has stated that if Republicans take back the Senate, he will block any potential Biden nominee that is presented, similar to how Merrick Garland was blocked in 2016, and with the midterms coming up in just nine months and Biden’s approval rating tanking, it’s likely that Republicans may in fact take back the Senate.
This still leaves around one month between Breyer’s retirement and the midterms, which will be more than enough time to approve a Supreme Court Justice, based on the six weeks it took for Justice Amy Coney Barrett to be approved. However, due to the tight Senate, Biden may have to choose a safer nominee to run through the Senate, with many moderate senators such as Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema potentially posing a threat to approving the new Justice.
Biden's journey to get the first female African American Justice may just be falling into place, but with many potential obstacles still in the way, it is hard to tell whether or not it will be possible before the new Senate is sworn in.
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