# Justice Stephen Breyer Should Retire Right Now (Is Now Retiring) **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [March 15, 2021, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justice-stephen-breyer-should-retire-right-now-is-now-retiring/937952 "2021-03-15T20:17:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justice-stephen-breyer-should-retire-right-now-is-now-retiring/937952/161 "2022-01-27T01:02:47Z")
Lindsay Graham has a history of supporting liberal nominees. He voted for Kagan and Sotomayor. So there will be no 11-11 tie. It is an interesting procedural point in a tie Senate, and I’m unsure why the Dems agreed to an 11-11 tie on that committee. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justice-stephen-breyer-should-retire-right-now-is-now-retiring/937952/162 "2022-01-27T01:04:41Z")
If Trump tells him to block it, he’ll block it. I doubt a justice gets seated before the next president. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justice-stephen-breyer-should-retire-right-now-is-now-retiring/937952/163 "2022-01-27T01:09:44Z")
If Trump gets to pick three justices and slant the Supreme Court to the extreme right in his four years in office, and Biden doesn’t even get _one_ pick, I’m going to be extremely highly pissed and stamp my feet and yell. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justice-stephen-breyer-should-retire-right-now-is-now-retiring/937952/164 "2022-01-27T01:14:04Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Kamala is Joes protection from impeachment. And they will try. Just because. How so? When they have the votes to deep-six Biden, they have the votes to deep-six them both. ---
**Author:** ![civilis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@civilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/civilis)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justice-stephen-breyer-should-retire-right-now-is-now-retiring/937952/165 "2022-01-27T01:16:05Z")
If Biden is to look for a black woman, think no farther than Anita Hill! ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justice-stephen-breyer-should-retire-right-now-is-now-retiring/937952/166 "2022-01-27T01:16:15Z")
Except in a few cases they will pick a grad of Yale or Harvard or both . Barret is a rare exception to that . Childs went to Duke so I guess that’s probably OK for getting picked ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justice-stephen-breyer-should-retire-right-now-is-now-retiring/937952/167 "2022-01-27T01:16:43Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > Any other members expected to retire soon (of course any could have sudden health problems or die)? Well, if Biden follows the advice some are offering and nominates Anita Hill, then we might see a reaction in a current Justice that might be bad for his health. (Anita Hill is not the worst idea anyway as she’s got a great mind, but she isn’t as young as we’d like (she’s 65) and also lacks experience as a judge. So this will probably remain an unserious suggestion.) ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justice-stephen-breyer-should-retire-right-now-is-now-retiring/937952/168 "2022-01-27T01:19:01Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > The way things are going, why not nominate Kamala Harris and when she is confirmed, appoint a new VP? If the next VP has the same basic POV as this one, they’ll be criticized similarly. And the story will be that the VP switch failed. If the next VP has different views, Joe will have to pivot do do what they’ll want, or the switch failure will be even worse. And I don’t think he wants to pivot. As a moderate, I’d love to be able to point to a potential moderate VP who could turn around the Democratic Party’s abysmal polling numbers, particularly among independents. But I can’t. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justice-stephen-breyer-should-retire-right-now-is-now-retiring/937952/169 "2022-01-27T01:35:18Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > An interesting point gets made [here](https://www.google.com/amp/s/time.com/6142711/joe-biden-supreme-court-nominee-mitch-mcconnell-stephen-breyer/%3famp=true): _“If all 11 Republican members of the Judiciary Committee oppose Biden’s pick and all 11 Democrats back her, the nomination goes inert … The nomination doesn’t die, but it does get parked until a lawmaker—historically, the Leader of the party—brings it to the floor for four hours of debate … At that point, it’s a motion to discharge, a cloture motion that requires 60 votes. In other words, 10 Republicans would have to resurrect the nomination of someone already blocked in the Judiciary Committee.”_ That link doesn’t work for me, but I don’t believe this is correct. At the start of this session, the Senate adopted an organizing resolution that created a special procedure for the Majority Leader to advance nominees from the Judiciary Committee to the floor if there’s a tie vote. Numerous votes on judicial and Department of Justice nominees have tied in the Judiciary Committee this session, and Schumer has been able to bring all of them to the floor for a vote without having to invoke cloture. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justice-stephen-breyer-should-retire-right-now-is-now-retiring/937952/170 "2022-01-27T01:40:20Z")
What can Republicans do to stall the process of appointing a new SCOTUS judge? Not what they should do, not what is usually done, and not what they have done in the past-What _can_ they do to throw sand into the process? ---
**Author:** ![DeadTreasSecretaries](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deadtreassecretaries/32/4817_2.png) [@DeadTreasSecretaries](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadTreasSecretaries)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justice-stephen-breyer-should-retire-right-now-is-now-retiring/937952/171 "2022-01-27T01:54:27Z")
I’m not sure exactly how the rules with holds work but it’s possible if the Democrats didn’t change any senate rules/norms that a single GOP senator could place a hold on the nomination, which would require a cloture vote to overcome. It seems utterly crazy that the Dems would allow this to happen without making any rule changes, but I basically think the same thing about letting the voting rights legislation get blocked so who knows. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justice-stephen-breyer-should-retire-right-now-is-now-retiring/937952/172 "2022-01-27T01:56:34Z")
A black female jurist, you say? Marsha Warfield has plenty of (night)court experience. [![](https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/marsha-warfield-3.jpg) ](https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/marsha-warfield-3.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justice-stephen-breyer-should-retire-right-now-is-now-retiring/937952/173 "2022-01-27T01:56:57Z")
> [@DeadTreasSecretaries](#): > > I’m not sure exactly how the rules with holds work but it’s possible if the Democrats didn’t change any senate rules/norms that a single GOP senator could place a hold on the nomination, which would require a cloture vote to overcome. Would that be a one and done, or could another Republican do the same thing after the cloture vote is over? ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justice-stephen-breyer-should-retire-right-now-is-now-retiring/937952/174 "2022-01-27T01:59:27Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > What can Republicans do to stall the process of appointing a new SCOTUS judge? > Not what they should do, not what is usually done, and not what they have done in the past-What _can_ they do to throw sand into the process? They have to find several people who will swear that the nominee did something so heinous Joe Biden feels he has to withdraw the nomination. This will be hard to do with Judge Ketanji Brown, since if she had those kind of enemies, they probably would have popped up when she was confirmed last year to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which is supposed to be the second highest court in the land. Some will say that the pick violates the equal protection clause because the job was pre-announced as limited by race and gender. This should at least qualify for your “not what they have done in the past” criteria. I personally think that said job announcement was indeed a terrible idea, although it shouldn’t stop confirmation. . P.S. Is there a Trumpy federal judge who might entertain a lawsuit to throw out a confirmed nominee on said 14th amendment grounds? How far could that get? ---
**Author:** ![DeadTreasSecretaries](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deadtreassecretaries/32/4817_2.png) [@DeadTreasSecretaries](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadTreasSecretaries)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justice-stephen-breyer-should-retire-right-now-is-now-retiring/937952/175 "2022-01-27T02:02:56Z")
Regarding cloture, if a motion passes a cloture vote, that’s it. The senate works by people putting through motions to go through each gate they need to go through. Once cloture is invoked, you’re through the gate into the next room. And technically, the Democrats only need a motion to bring the nomination to the senate floor and then a vote on the nominee. The Dems are going to go through the judiciary committee process, but AFAIK there is no rule saying they have to. The GOP could deadlock the committee as others have said, but the Democrats can just let it go straight to floor vote in that case. There is also quorum, but just googling, it looks like 51 are needed for quorum BUT someone needs to be present to suggest that quorum doesn’t exist. So it would be a catch-22 for the GOP (BTW every time I read or write anything about senate procedures I lose braincells). ---
**Author:** ![DeadTreasSecretaries](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deadtreassecretaries/32/4817_2.png) [@DeadTreasSecretaries](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadTreasSecretaries)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justice-stephen-breyer-should-retire-right-now-is-now-retiring/937952/176 "2022-01-27T02:04:36Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > They have to find several people who will swear that the nominee did something so heinous Joe Biden feels he has to withdraw the nomination. Yeah, I think the real question here is whether the GOP will launch a Kavanaugh-esque media campaign against the nominee or not. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justice-stephen-breyer-should-retire-right-now-is-now-retiring/937952/177 "2022-01-27T02:51:16Z")
> [@DeadTreasSecretaries](#): > > Yeah, I think the real question here is whether the GOP will launch a Kavanaugh-esque media campaign against the nominee or not. If my post helped spark this, I’m going to take it back. From a self-interested, anti-democratic, operation chaos POV, their best idea may be to claim that the nominee is no worse than what might be expected from Biden, but that fidelity to the U.S. constitution requires never agreeing said affirmative action justice is a real justice, just as the fraudulently elected Joe Biden is not a real president. I could be accused of giving them ideas, but I’m sure they can come up with this on their own. ---
**Author:** ![DeadTreasSecretaries](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deadtreassecretaries/32/4817_2.png) [@DeadTreasSecretaries](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadTreasSecretaries)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justice-stephen-breyer-should-retire-right-now-is-now-retiring/937952/178 "2022-01-27T03:46:43Z")
I forgot to mention that I’m a GOP operative who baits people on the internet into giving the party ideas for our political machinations. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justice-stephen-breyer-should-retire-right-now-is-now-retiring/937952/179 "2022-01-27T04:15:36Z")
> [@DeadTreasSecretaries](#): > > I’m not sure exactly how the rules with holds work but it’s possible if the Democrats didn’t change any senate rules/norms that a single GOP senator could place a hold on the nomination, which would require a cloture vote to overcome. A “hold” is just a Senator telling their party leadership to oppose any unanimous consent agreement to move forward with a nominee, which forces the majority to invoke cloture. But the cloture threshold on Supreme Court nominees was lowered to just a majority in 2017, so it wouldn’t change anything. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justice-stephen-breyer-should-retire-right-now-is-now-retiring/937952/180 "2022-01-27T04:24:07Z")
Under Senate rules committees are only allowed to meet for two hours in the morning, a limitation that is usually waived by unanimous consent. They can object to this, which would draw out the hearings for a few more days. As mentioned, they can deadlock the Judiciary Committee vote and require Schumer to discharge the nomination to the floor. That process takes a little more time. Once Democrats invoke cloture on the nomination, they can use up the full 30 hours of post-cloture floor time allowed for debate before the vote. There _may_ be two cloture motions (on the motion to proceed and the nomination itself) which would give them 60 hours. But as long as Democrats hang together, they can delay but not stop the nomination. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justice-stephen-breyer-should-retire-right-now-is-now-retiring/937952.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justice-stephen-breyer-should-retire-right-now-is-now-retiring/937952.md?page=10)