Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer said Sunday that the proposal from several Democrats to pack the court could lead to the American people losing faith in the bench.
In an interview with Chris Wallace on "Fox News Sunday," Breyer warned that Democrats' efforts to expand the Supreme Court to allow President Joe Biden to appoint several justices could lead to the court losing public trust.
"Well, if one party could do it, I guess another party could do it," Breyer said. "On the surface, it seems to me, you start changing all these things around and people will lose trust in the court."
JUST NOW: “If you start changing things around, people will lose trust in the court.” Justice Breyer weighs in on the idea of packing the court. #FoxNewsSunday pic.twitter.com/N9Sm0eTkle
— FoxNewsSunday (@FoxNewsSunday) September 12, 2021
The Clinton appointee, however, is not opposed to all reform regarding the Supreme Court, telling Wallace that he is open to the idea of term limits for justices.
"I think you could do that. It should be a very long-term because you don't want the judge who's holding that term the start thinking about his next job," Breyer said. "But it would make life easier for me."
And while Justices Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg had remained on the bench until their deaths, the 83-year-old Breyer said that he does not "intend to die on the court. I don't think I'll be there forever."
This comes amid calls from Democrats for Breyer to retire while Democrats still have control the White House and the Senate, allowing a liberal justice to take his place before the Republicans have the opportunity to flip the Senate in the 2022 midterm elections.
Breyer said there are"many considerations" that go into his decision about the timing of his retirement.
"There are many factors, in fact, quite a few," he said. "And the role of the court and so forth is one of them. And the situation, the institutional considerations are some. And I believe, I can't say I take anything perfectly into account, but in my own mind, I think about those things."
"I didn't retire because I decided on balance I wouldn't retire," he continued.
Breyer went on to say that, despite the political lens that many people view the court and the selection of justices in the current day, he does not serve just one party, but rather, he serves all Americans.
"I'm there for everybody. I'm not just there for the Democrats. I'm not just there for the Republicans. And I'm not just there because the president was a Democrat who appointed me," he said. "It's a very great privilege to be in that job. And part of it is to remember that you're there for everyone. They won't like what you say half the time – or more. But you're still there for them."
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