
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Justice Stephen Breyer, at 84, is now both the oldest and the most senior member of the Supreme Court. ; There is a distinction in those two descriptions. ; The first deals with age and the second with tenure on the Court.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">What is significant about the age issue is health. ; The liberal community watched in horror as their icon justice, Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s health declined. And she died just in time to give President Trump an opportunity to put a third justice on the high court.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Many on the left have been hoping, begging and even demanding that Justice Breyer step down at the end of the current term this past June. ; They fear that he could be another Ginsberg if Republicans take back the presidency and the Senate in 2024. ; They are also concerned that a GOP Senate victory in 2022 would enable then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to block any of the more liberal candidates. ; If a vacancy occurred close to the 2024 election McConnell could again hold up any nominations for the next President – hoping it would be a Republican. ; The strategy paid off big-time in 2020.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Justice Breyer appears to be in excellent health for a man his age. ; He is not the oldest person to have served on the Supreme Court. ; Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes retired at the age of 90 back in 1932. ; With modern advances in healthcare, Breyer has every potential of surpassing that age.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Justices usually announce their retirement at that end of a Court term in June. ; There was a rise in speculation this past June as the Court was closing shop. ; Breyer told folks that health would be is major consideration for retirement. ; That indicated that he would be around for at least one more term – taking him to June of 2022, the eve of the next election. ; A retirement then would give Democrats the appointment and the consent of a Senate in which they have a one-vote majority in the person of Vice President Harris.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">While that generally would be insufficient time to vet the nominee of the President, McConnell has set the new standard by eliminating the 60-vote supermajority requirement and pushing through the Barrett nomination in record time.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">If Justice Breyer does not retire next year, he will probably stay as long as possible. And at that point the future is anybody’s guess.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Liberals are still smarting over the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy. This gave Trump his first chance to add a justice to the Supreme Court. ; But justices are more likely to hang in until the end – or until their health seriously affects their ability to perform. ; Ginsberg stayed on beyond her ability to perform solely because she hoped to outlive the Trump presidency. ; Had she lived and Trump were re-elected, it is likely she would have retired soon after the election knowing she could not survive for four more years.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The other consideration is Breyer’s role as the senior member of the Court. ; This could have significant bearing on his ultimate decision about retirement. ; Breyer became the senior justice upon the death of Ginsberg at the age of 87. ; She was put on the Court just one year prior to Breyer.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Being the senior member of the Court is not merely an honorary title. It greatly enhances a justice’s influence and power over the Byzantine workings of the Court. ; Breyer is now the second most powerful justice on the Supreme Court. ; He is said to love his job – and with the enhanced authority he has to love it all the more.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Some pundits argued that Breyer was under a lot of pressure to resign this year. ; It is predictable that their may be even more calls for his retirement next year. ; But is it really pressure? ; They can call for his resignation, but they cannot really apply any pressure. ; He is immune to the political cross currents. ; Breyer has that job for the rest of his life, if he so chooses. ; And if his health holds out, I personally think he will not step down even next year despite all the caterwauling from the radical left. ;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">So, there ‘tis.</p>

Why Justice Breyer Is Not Stepping Down from the Supreme Court
