For more than 27 years, he occupied one of the precious seats of the Supreme Court of the United States, installed in the capital, Washington. Stephen Breyer is expected to announce his resignation from the highest American legal body very soon, according to several American media. Appointed by Democrat Bill Clinton in 1994, the 83-year-old was the dean, but not the most capped. Clarence Thomas, ten years younger, and appointed by George HW Bush in 1991, is still in office. For life, as required by law.
The news may appear to be bad news for Joe Biden: Stephen Breyer was part of the Court’s progressive fringe, alongside Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. The Supreme Court and its nine seats is currently dominated by six conservatives, including three appointed by Donald Trump during his term: Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, in direct succession to the progressive icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg, passed away in September 2020.
But before June 30, the probable date of departure of Breyer, the Democratic camp can embark on the organization of a confirmation hearing, in order to designate his successor. This actually falls very well for Joe Biden, in great political difficulty at the moment, for two reasons.
Campaign promise
The first is that Joe Biden should be able to fulfill one of his campaign promises: that of appointing a black (and young!) woman to the powerful institution, which would be a first. The White House thus confirmed that the promise made by Biden during the debates of the 2020 presidential campaign (in March very precisely) to appoint an African-American to the Supreme Court “still stands”.
“It has always been the decision of any Supreme Court justice if and when they decide to retire, and how they want to announce it, and it remains the case today,” spokeswoman Jen said. psaki, on Twitter, refusing for the moment to say more. “There was no announcement from Judge Breyer. Let him make the statement he intends to make. I’ll be happy to talk about it later,” Joe Biden said.
The group Demand Justice, which has long called for the addition of a new seat to the Court, and the appointment of a black woman, reiterated its request, at the release of the first articles evoking the withdrawal of Breyer. One name stands out in particular.
“Biden will have the chance to make history by placing the first black woman on SCOTUS [la Cour suprême], and he will have the choice between many highly qualified candidates. One of those candidates, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, was backed by all fifty Democrats and three Republicans for the DC Circuit last year. [la cour fédérale d’appel de Washington]“, mentioned in particular the former senator and director of the group, Brian Fallon. This appointment to the federal appeals court in Washington is often considered as a springboard for the Supreme Court. More broadly, the career of Ketanji Brown Jackson, 51 years old – champion of eloquence competitions from high school, graduated with honors from the prestigious Harvard University (where she was editor-in-chief of the prestigious magazine Harvard Law Review, like Barack Obama), a career in the public and private sectors and eight years as a federal trial judge – the place at the top of the forecasts.
The name of Leondra Kruger, Justice of the Supreme Court of California, 45, is also circulating insistently. Daughter of a Jamaican immigrant, she worked for the Obama administration. The media CNN also quotes the judges Michelle Childs, Wilhelmina Wright or Eunice Lee.
A Senate still under (weak) control
The second reason is contextual. The appointment of a Supreme Court justice is finalized after a vote by the Senate, following a process consisting of a hearing of the chosen nominee and a committee vote (non-disqualifying). However, the Senate is currently shared equally between Republicans and Democrats, and switches thanks to the decisive vote of Vice-President Kamala Harris. Which is already not without risk: the impossibility of passing the mega-economic and ecological recovery plan “Build Back Better”, in part because of the blocking of Democratic Senator from West Virginia Joe Manchin, is one of them. drawing.
The midterms, the mid-term elections scheduled for this fall of 2022, could turn the situation around a little more. On this occasion, around thirty Senate seats will be put back into play. In difficulty, Biden could lose his majority. The vote, although simplified by Donald Trump in 2017 (it took at least 60 votes to appoint a judge before, a majority is enough today), would be lost in advance for Biden. The president of the Republican camp in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, had already warned that he would block any nomination if it came after the midterms of 2022, potentially under a Republican Senate, therefore.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, while paying tribute to Breyer, issued a statement saying he was ready to “quickly” organize a confirmation hearing for his successor.
The maneuver will therefore be quick. Like that of Donald Trump, who succeeded in replacing Ruth Bader Ginsburg in just thirty days, between the date of appointment and confirmation. the washington post recalls that between 1975 and 2016, it took around 70 days on average to confirm a candidate.
The file will undoubtedly be one of Joe Biden’s priorities in the coming months. Appointments to the Supreme Court, which arbitrates most major social issues in the United States, have been the subject of fierce political battles for several years. The Court overhauled by the billionaire Trump has already invalidated the vaccination obligation in large companies decreed by Joe Biden and seems ready to reconsider the right to abortion, to expand the right to bear arms or even to dismantle certain regulations environmental.