Justice Stephen Breyer is expected to retire from the bench despite being in good health and having an active involvement in several cases, sources told ABC News.
His exit will offer President Biden the chance to make his first high court appointment.
During his 2020 campaign, Biden had promised to nominate an African American to the court, which is going to be a historic move.
“We are putting together a list of a group of African American women who are qualified and have the experience to be on the court,” Biden said at the time.
“I am not going to release that until we go further down the line in vetting them.”
Former Federal Appeals Court Judge Richard Posner had described the retiring oldest member of the Supreme Court as “not a dogmatist generating rules from high-level theories.”
“He has been operating at the peak of his powers,” Professor Jeffrey Rosen added of the 83-year-old Justice.
“It was so inspiring that this term his pragmatic vision of compromise and moderation were ascendant and all of the unanimous decisions were a moving tribute to his inspiring legacy.”
