Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is continuing his media interviews to coincide with the release of a new book. On Sunday, Breyer was interviewed on Fox News Sunday and once again refused to give any hints of when he might retire. During the interview Chris Wallace noted how former Justice Antonin Scalia wanted to time his retirement so that it would coincide with a Republican president but he died before. “Do you agree with Scalia that a justice who is unmindful of the politics of the president who replaces him is a fool?” Wallace asked the 83-year-old justice. Breyer responded: “I don’t intend to die on the court. I don’t think I’ll be there forever.”
Breyer didn’t give much of an explanation as to why he has not announced his retirement amid calls from many progressive Democrats who want him to step down while their party controls the White House and the Senate. “I didn’t retire because I had decided on balance I wouldn’t retire,” Breyer said. He said “many factors” will play a role in his decision of when to retire, including the possibility that a Republican president would decide on his successor. “I see the point, and probably in the background, there could be something there. There are many considerations,” Breyer said.
Breyer, who was nominated by President Bill Clinton in 1994, didn’t seem too bothered by the increasing calls for him to step down from progressives. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, for example, said in June she was “inclined to say yes” when asked whether Breyer should step down. “I think that they are entitled to their opinion,” Breyer said. “I think they—and not only they understand the political world much better than I, they understand it pretty well, and there we are, what else do you want me to say?” He also reiterated his support for term limits, saying it would “make life easier for me.”
