Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer will officially announce his retirement from the White House Thursday afternoon. He will be joined by President Joe Biden, who is expected to give remarks from the Roosevelt Room. Daily press guidance was updated with the event late Thursday morning.
The announcement comes 24 hours after news broke through the media that Breyer was retiring. The news did not come through Breyer or from the Surpreme Court, prompting questions about a politically motivated leak from the White House. Breyer was reportedly upset about the news and "blindsided."
A bit more clarity. I'm told Justice Breyer had firmly decided on his own to retire and that an announcement was due very soon. And while it appears someone jumped the gun on that, better to characterize him as surprised by events today than "upset".
— Shannon Bream (@ShannonBream) January 26, 2022
CORRECTION: @ShannonBream reports Justice Breyer was surprised when the retirement story broke, one source used the word "blindsided."
— BILL HEMMER (@BillHemmer) January 27, 2022
On the 2020 campaign trail President Joe Biden vowed to nominate a black woman if a vacancy on the Supreme Court became available. During the daily briefing at the White House Wednesday, Press Secretary Jen Psaki confirmed Biden intends to make good on that promise.
"The President has stated and reiterated his commitment to nominating a Black woman to the Supreme Court and certainly stands by that," Psaki said.
PSAKI: Biden stands by his promise to nominate a black woman to the Supreme Court. pic.twitter.com/0ZFuTgEPgc
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) January 26, 2022
No word yet on a short list from Biden about who he might pick as the nominee.
