Supreme Court Justice Breyer, 83, Hasn’t Ruled Out Retirement Yet

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, the oldest member in the Supreme Court, said he is still undecided about his retirement.

“I can’t say never decide a shadow-docket thing,” he told the New York Times. “Not never. But be careful. And I’ve said that in print. I’ll probably say it more.”

Democrats have been pushing Breyer, who has turned 83 this month, to retire while both the Senate and White House are currently under Democratic control. They want President Joe Biden to appoint a younger liberal in order to prevent the Democratic party from losing another seat to the Republicans on the Supreme Court.

Supreme Court justices have life tenure. So if Breyer passes away as a Supreme Court justice while the Senate is under Republicans’ control in the future, Democrats are likely to lose another justice on their side.

“I don’t want somebody appointed who will just reverse everything I’ve done for the last 25 years,” Breyer said.

Democrats have a history of losing seats on the court to their Republican counterparts – when former Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away in 2020, she was replaced by conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett. 

“I don’t think I’m going to stay there till I die — hope not,” Breyer said.