US justice to retire, giving Biden his first Supreme Court pick

Breyer’s departure would not change the 6-3 Conservative advantage on the Supreme Court because his replacement will almost certainly be confirmed by a Senate where Democrats have the slimmest majority [File: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters]

Longtime United States Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is retiring, giving President Joseph Biden his first high court opening, which he has promised to fill with the historic naming of the court’s first Black woman.

Breyer, 83, has been a pragmatic force in a court that has grown increasingly conservative, trying to forge majorities with more moderate justices right and left of centre.