Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) says President Joe BidenâsSupreme Court nominee will receive a âprompt hearingâ in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Schumer issued a statement after it was reported that Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is planning on retiring.
âFor virtually his entire adult life, including a quarter century on the U.S. Supreme Court, Stephen Breyer has served his country with the highest possible distinction. He is, and always has been, a model jurist. He embodies the best qualities and highest ideals of American justice; knowledge, wisdom, fairness, humility, restraint,â Schumer said.
He added, âHis work and his decisions as an Associate Justice on the biggest issues of our time â including voting rights, the environment, womenâs reproductive freedom, and most recently, health care and the Affordable Care Act â were hugely consequential. America owes Justice Breyer an enormous debt of gratitude.â
Concluding his statement, Schumer said, âPresident Bidenâs 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.â
Breyer told NPR in September he does not âwant to stay on the Supreme Court until I die.â
Additionally, he previously told the outlet his decision on when he would retire âhas many complex parts to it. I think I am aware of most of them and will consider them.â
During a Democratic primary debate in February 2020, Biden vowed to nominate the first Black woman to serve as a Supreme Court justice.
âWe talked about the Supreme Court â Iâm looking forward to making sure thereâs a Black woman on the Supreme Court to make sure we in fact get everyone represented,â Biden said.
According to NPR, the top contenders for the position appear to be federal Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson and California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger.
