Ocasio-Cortez says Breyer should retire from Supreme Court
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Sunday said she thinks liberal Justice Stephen Breyer should retire at the end of the court's term, which could allow President Biden to nominate his successor and a Democratic Senate to confirm a nominee.
Pressed by Dana Bash on CNN's "State of the Union" on whether the 82-year-old justice should retire, Ocasio-Cortez said "I'm inclined to say yes."
"Just to be clear, you do think that Justice Stephen Breyer should retire at the end of this term?" Bash asked.
"You know I, it's something that I'd think about but I, I would probably lean towards yes. But yes, you're asking me this question so I've just, I would give more thought to it but, but I'm inclined to say yes," Ocasio-Cortez responded.
Earlier in the interview, Bash asked Ocasio-Cortez if she agrees with Rep. Mondair Jones (D-N.Y.), who in April called on Breyer to retire at the end of the term, Ocasio-Cortez said "I believe Representative Jones has a point."
Mondaire in April said "there's no question" that Breyer should retire, adding "my goodness, have we not learned our lesson?"
The lawmaker's comments come after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg last year, which allowed former President Trump to out a third conservative justice on the bench.
"We have had very difficult experiences with making I believe the opposite mistake, and especially if Senate Democrats are not going to pass reforms on HR 1, we cannot rely solely on a wish of winning elections, particularly in the Senate when voting rights are under attack in Georgia, Arizona and Texas across the country," Ocasio-Cortez said.
"And if we're not going to pass HR 1 with the preemptive clauses that can roll some of that voter suppression attacks back, yeah, I believe that we should protect our Supreme Court and I bet that should absolutely be a consideration," she continued.
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AOC, along with others, need to remember that SCOTUS appointments are for life, and Justices, unless impeached, are the ONLY people who get to decide when to retire.
I doubt many Justices base their retirements on the yearnings of either political parties.
AOC knows midterms are coming. The chances of Democrats staying in power are slim given the history of midterms and how losses have occurred to the party in power in both the House and the Senate.
Biden might find a very angry Republican Senate to deal with on judicial nominations with all the "end the filibuster" bs the Democrats have been pushing. Also, given the way Republican Supreme Court nominees have been treated; it might be well past time for the Democrats to receive a very strong dose of their own medicine for change.
So what, she was asked a question and she replied ... bad girl!
Politically, it’s the right strategy if you want a liberal justice to replace him. In a couple years, Republicans might control the Senate again.
Historically, though, justices don’t seem to care about that very much - at least not enough to retire at the optimal time.