breyer to retire from high court. the decision by liberal leaning justice gives biden a chance to fulfill campaigning promise and nominate a black woman. we are joined for some insight on the news and the likely resignation of justice breyer by lauren hurley, who covers the supreme court -- lawrence hurley who covers the super incorporate thank you for being up with us. the news is not a surprise. there has been pressure on justice breyer to retire since joe biden came into office. guest: liberal activists have been anxious about justice breyer. also, because of what happened with justice ginsburg, justice ruth bader ginsburg, who democrats wanted to retire when obama was president and she did not. ultimately, she died during the trump administration, allowing president donald trump to replace her. that helped make the court a 6-3 majority. democratics wanted breyer seat to go to a demo credit appointee. -- breyer seat to go to a democratic appointee. host: what type of justice do you think the president will be looki

robin landhart former law clerk of justice breyer. thanks so much you worked so closely with him what was his impact on this court in your estimation >> i think for this court, the impact the justice has had has been tremendous. first of all, he's had many important decisions across the time of his time at the court. but beyond that, i think behind the scenes what people can't see is the role that the justice plays in connecting with his fellow justices, trying to work through problems, trying to get to consensus on issues i know recently there have been a lot of discussion about the justices and difficulties that they may be having i know justice breyer, his whole -- his entire period at the court has been about trying to come to consensus and move forward in a positive way. >> in a 2001 interview, you said his legacy will be trying to bring people on the court together across all perspectives and across all politics. did he continue to accomplish that even when our situation got a lot more polarized >> i think that he certainly cont

was first nominated. >> this is sort of a bittersweet day for me justice breyer and i go back a long way >> reporter: and now describing who he will pick to replace him. >> the person i will nominate will be someone with extraordinary qualifications, character, experience, and integrity. and that person will be the first black woman ever nominated to the united states supreme court. it's long overdue in my opinion >> reporter: thought to be atop the short list, judge ketanji brown jackson, on the powerful federal appeals court here in washington a 51-year-old harvard law graduate who was confirmed with bipartisan support just last year and 45-year-old california supreme court justice leondra kruger along with j. michelle childs, a federal judge from south carolina breyer hand-delivering his retirement letter to the president today, saying he wil serve until the end of the court's term the president's supporters hoping it's a chance for a political reset with his legislative priority stalled bu republicans are pushing back >> they're trying to use this to distract from what is their f

. >>> today, supreme court justice stephen breyer made it official. he plans to retire this summer after serving nearly 3 decades on this u.s. supreme court. natalie brand is at the white house where breyer reflected on his judicial legacy. >> reporter: that's right. president biden and justice breyer actually have a history that goes back decades. as you may know , justice breyer has roots in the bay area. he was born in san francisco. he attended stanford. today, he was praised by the president as a model public servant. after a presidential handshake, justice stephen breyer reflected on a nearly three decades long career on the u.s. supreme court. >> it's a kind of miracle, when you sit there and see all of those people in front of you. people that are so different than what they think, and yet they have decided to help solve their major differences under law. >> reporter: president biden, who presided over breyer's confirmation as senate judiciary chair back in 1994 called the announcement that are sweet. >> i think he is a model public servant an

early in her career, she worked as a clerk under breyer. california supreme court justice leondra kruger. also a former supreme court clerk, she has argued a dozen cases before the justices. and u.s. district court judge j. michelle childs, a federal judge in south carolina who has been nominated to the d.c. circuit. she's a favorite among high- profile lawmakers. breyer's retirement marks a full-circle moment for the president, who presided over the justice's confirmation to the supreme court in 1994. >> i was proud and grateful to be there at the start of this distinguished career in the supreme court. and i'm very proud to be her today. >> reporter: the nomination will be one of the most consequential choices of biden's presidency. getting a democrat on the court, and notably, a woman of color, could reinvigorate a necessary voting base ahead of november's midterm elections. for the pbs newshour, i'm geoff bennett. >> woodruff: as we saw, the president was clear on his >> woodruff: it is not known exactly when president biden will select

someone jumped the gun leaking out justice breyer's retirement because breyer cities has not had a chance to talk to the president about his retirement yet. we expect that face-to-face to happen today. a source telling fox that justice breyer will meet privately can with biden. there will be an event after their meeting and then an official notice from the supreme court that breyer will retire after that. this is biden's chance to make history and follow through on his campaign promise to nominate the first black woman to the high court. there is already some top contenders reportedly on the list but some critics are taking issue with biden using race as a vetting tool. >> i thought the era which weigh saidple w q fiedlified afiederedal se ose tssal, bas onirheir racace,ac tac w t 19th c19tury19his,19s, is sh w w wou be retni his. issroni iro thecremeupourt c is isonsing aririen t iue ofueueiafe prefeesrefextmeb di gdihe m theo. rterrtereprtercanslin ressngre aary varf o a rnr yn sayyns s the wil beg immenseur furrom theheradice a a partintihoho wilhol w w gislateslhem t ben propesidenest

yamiche: justice steven breyer announces his retirement. and president biden vows his replacement will make history. >> i'm going to give the president nominee whoever that may be a fair look. yamiche: setting the stage for a nate debate ahead of the midterms. plus -- >> we're acting with equal focus and force to bolster ukraine's defenses and prepare a swift united response to further russian aggression. yamiche: tensions over russia and ukraine intensify. next. announcer: this is "washington week." corporate funding is provided b. additional funding is provided by the estate of arnold adams, koo and patricia yuen through the yuen foundation committed to bridging cultural differences in our communities, sardinha and carl delay-magnuson, rose hirschel and andy shreeves. robert and sues be rosen palm. the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. once again from washington modetor yamiche alcindor. yamiche: good evening and welcome to "washington week." president biden was

. >>> president biden and justice stephen breyer. making it official, justice breyer will retire abin wt he s so hil nominate t urer and wt brerai country and his optimism about the country's future. in his own words tonight, mary bruce at scott on the hill. >>> millions ofster. tonight, it all defends on the track. just how much snow there will be. virginia already declaring a state of emergency. philadelphia, new york, boston, the cape all preparing. some areas bracing for up to two feet of snow. winds 60 miles per hour. rob marciano with the newest potential tracks. >>> tonight, russia now responding to the u.s. what the u.s. put in writing, making no promise that ukraine would never join nato. but what russia said about that today and ian pannell in ukraine again tonight. >>> news on the pandemic here at home. and scientists here in the u.s. ae now studying this new omicron subvariant found in at least 17 states. what they're seeing so far. >>> a school board in tennessee tonight facing nationwide backlash and the new message fro

president can take. >> there has been no announcement from justice breyer. let him make whatever statement he's going to make and i'll be happy to talk about it later. >> reporter: biden now getting the opportunity to fulfill this 2020 campaign promise. >> i'm looking forward to making sure there is a black woman on the supreme court, to make sure we get representation. >> i'm committed, if i'm elected president, i have an opportunity to appoint someone to the courts, i'll appoint the first black woman to the courts. we're putting together a list of a group of african american women who are qualified and have the experience to be in the court. >> reporter: the white house reiterating biden's position on this front remains unchanged. >> the president has stated and reiterated his commitment to nominating a black woman to the supreme court and certainly stands by that. >> reporter: the upcoming nomination and confirmation fight now expected to dominate washington and the white house for weeks. senate majority leader chuck schumer looking to move quickly, follo

there has been no announcement from justice breyer. let him make the statement he is going to make and i will be happy to talk about that later. >> nbc news now reports biden will appear with wry or at the white house to more. this will be biden's chance to put his own imprint on the highest court in the land and it brings a much-needed opportunity for his white house to bring the focus off of their stalled domestic agenda. nbc news reports that biden, quote, learned of buyers retirement in the middle of last week and is expected to put forward a nominee relatively quickly. senate democrats have also vowed to act swiftly. remember, amy coney barrett's nomination took just 27 days, a much faster process than usual. but even though democrats hold a majority in the senate, and republicans won't be able to use the filibuster, because they changed it for supreme court nominees in 2017, biden's pick is not guaranteed as an easy confirmation. >> we want to be deliberate. we want to move quickly and we want to get this done as soon as possible

again, i haven't spoken to justice breyer about this decision. but, i mean, i'm glad that he saw -- that he let reality slap him in the face. like last year, last june when a lot of people were pressuring him to retire, and he gave a lot of push back don't politicize the court. he suggested if he would have intentionally stepped down under a democratic president, it would make the court look partisan. and i don't know what happened over the course of the last six or seven months, but what i do know happened is he went through the oral argument that's probably going to end in roe v. wade being struck down. he went through the oral argument probably going to end in a massive expansion of the second amendment. you know, time and time again this court has been behaving in a very ideological and very partisan way, and i imagine that must have been eye opening for him. you know, if i went through that myrosion would be oh, god, i can no longer work with my colleagues. >> yeah, and there's precedence for it. previous justices have retired or stepped dow

again, i haven't spoken to justice breyer about this decision. but, i mean, i'm glad that he saw -- that he let reality slap him in the face. like last year, last june when a lot of people were pressuring him to retire, and he gave a lot of push back don't politicize the court. he suggested if he would have intentionally stepped down under a democratic president, it would make the court look partisan. and i don't know what happened over the course of the last six or seven months, but what i do know happened is he went through the oral argument that's probably going to end in roe v. wade being struck down. he went through the oral argument probably going to end in a massive expansion of the second amendment. you know, time and time again this court has been behaving in a very ideological and very partisan way, and i imagine that must have been eye opening for him. you know, if i went through that my recognition would be, oh, god, i can no longer work with my colleagues. >> yeah, and there's precedence for it. previous justices have retired or step

justice breyer did that but in terms of jurisprudence, justice breyer was a consistent bow on the liberal side of the equation. there's not a lot that can change in that sense through this nomination. >> todd: obviously with the major points of entry yesterday when the story broke, what if it is tied 50/50 in the senate and the nominee is kamala harris and kamala harris has to break the tie-breaking vote? what do you think about that? >> you know, there is this debate going on about whether, in fact, the tie-breaking vote -- let's say that wasn't the vice president, can she cast a vote as the constitution and there's a debate about that. my sense is the vice president can cast a vote but we will have to see how that plays out. the senate will have to have their own rules of procedure. then the question that you pointed out, what if she is a nominee? that disqualifies her from sitting in that position casting a vote herself peer that would change the dynamic if, in fact, the vice president could cast a tie-breaking vote. >> carley: very interesting. jen psaki said yesterday that president

breyer has frequently sided with the liberal justices. his departure paves the way for president biden to fulfill a campaign promise and nominate a black woman to the court. >>> russia is conducting military drills in the black sea amid heightened tensions with ukraine. the u.s. has formally rejected vladimir putin's demand that ukraine be banned from joining nato and says the ball is now in putin's court. >>> a $110,000 reward is being offered to find the killer of 16-year-old tioni theus, whose body was found alongside a freeway in los angeles earlier this month. police say she may have been a victim of human trafficking. >>> today's weather, snow around the great lakes and in the rockies. in and the east coast is bracing for a powerful storm. two feet of snow could fall in island, new york. d sa >>> and finally the couple raising thousands of dollars for their food delivery driver after his kind gesture was caught on camera. >> will ganss explains. >> reporter: when you order food online, sometimes a surprise can be a bad thing. >> nev

yamiche: justice steven breyer announces his retirement. and president biden vows his replacement will make history. >> i'm going to give the president nominee whoever that may be a fair look. yamiche: setting the stage for a senate debate ahead of the midterms. plus -- >> we're acting with equal focus and force to bolster ukraine's defenses and prepare a swift united response to further russian aggression. miche: tensions over russia and ukraine intensify. next. announcer: this is "washington week." corporate funding is provided b. additional funding is provided by the estate of arnold adams, koo and patricia yuen through the yuen foundation committed to bridging cultural differences in our communities, sardinha and carl delay-magnuson, rose hirschel and andy shreeves. robert and sues be rosen palm. the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. once again from washington moderator yamiche alcindor. yamiche: good evening and welcome to "washiton week." president biden was

after nearly three decades on the supreme court, justice stephen breyer is expected to retire. sources tell cbs news that the 83-year-old will stay on the bench for this rest of this consequential term, deciding on major cases like abortion right, and he'll wait until the senate nominates a successor. his replacement won't change the ideological makeup of the nation's highest court. in recent years, breyer has found himself in the dissent on a bench that has moved more to the right with a 6-3 conservative majority. president biden will now be given the opportunity to fulfill a campaign promise and appoint the first black female supreme court justice. we have two reports tonight, starting with cbs' chief legal correspondent jan crawford. good evening, jan. some big news today. >> reporter: it could literally change the face of the supreme court, norah. now, justice breyer let president biden know last week that he plans to retire this summer, so that's now shifting the focus to who will replace him. the court's most-senior liberal, justice stephen breyer, made the decision that

breyer is expected to retire in the summer. senate majority leader chuck schumer says they want to get this done as soon as possible. >>> let's take a live look at oakland where some city residents are opposing proposed port of oakland sand and gravel site. they say they're tired of dirty air coming from the port. justin andrews is live. >> reporter: port of oakland's board of commissioners will consider proposed sand and gravel storage facility on the property. for years people have lived there and have been complaining of pollution off the port and going into their neighborhoods. with this latest proposal they feel it's another fight. there is a company that wants to put the facility on the property. environmental activists say west oaklanders already suffer four times pollution levels of other parts of the city and say the company hasn't properly studied how much fine dust would be created nor what health impacts there can be. there are even some working at the port who are against this too. >> it's a loose rock facility. so

san francisco native justice stephen breyer has announced his plans to step down. natalie brand reports all eyes are now on president biden to see who he will nominate for the high court position. >> reporter: eme court justice stephen breyer joined president biden at the white house to announce his plans to step down nearly 30 years after then senator biden presided over his confirmation hearing. >> i was proud and grateful to be there at the start of his distinguished career in the supreme court. and i'm very proud to be here today on his announcement of his retirement. >> reporter: president clinton nominated the long time liberal justice back in 1994. his retirement will not change the ideological makeup with the court now split. >> it is a kind of miracle. when you sit there and see all of those people in front of you. people that are so different in what they think. and yet, they have decided to help solve their major differences under law. >> reporter: the retirement comes just ahead of midterm elections that could change the balance of the senate. and presi

supreme court justice stephen breyer is expected to announce he's stepping down. the top candidates to replace him and why it would be historic. >>> diplomatic discussions. the u.s. offers a way out for russia as it threatens to invade ukraine. what may impact the timing of a possible attack. >>> bracing for a nor'easter. major snow and hurricane-force winds could hit the northeast this weekend. the preparations under way for the big storm. >>> good morning, and good to be with you. i'm anne-marie green. we begin with the expected announcement today from supreme court justice stephen breyer that he will retire this summer. the 83-year-old is the senior member of the supreme court's liberal wing. his departure gives president biden a chance to make his first nomination to the high court and an opportunity to make good on a campaign promise to appoint the first black female justice. debra alfarone is on capitol hill with more on this. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, anne-marie. it is a chance to make history. and if history is any guide at all, the fight to

well, president biden appeared with supreme court justice stephen breyer where breyer announced he will retire. scott mcgrew is joining us now. justice breyer saying he will stay around until the summer. >> reporter: stay around until the summer because that's a logical break in the court schedule. though he did add the caution in his letter saying that's assuming the senate approves his replacement. he says he'll wait until the new justice is confirmed to retire. there was a quick appearance at the white house with the official announcement. president biden pointing out he had been on the head of the judiciary committee that vetted justice breyer for the supreme court and ushered the nomination to a full senate vote back in 1994. breyer talked about his love for the country and the constitution. >> this is a complicated country. there are more than 330 million people. my mother used to say it's every race, every religion and she would emphasize this, it's every point of view possible. and it's a kind of miracle when you sit there and see all those people in front of you. people that ar

and justice breyer's successor will become the 116th justice to serve on the supreme court. it is no doubt a significant moment in history. the 115 justices who served so far, 108 have been white men. compared to two black men, four white women and one latina. joining us now to discuss is gloria brown marshall, a civil rights attorney and author of "she took power: the black woman law and power". and laura coates, a senior cnn legal analyst and former federal prosecutor. she's also the author of the new book "just pursuit: a black prosecutor's fight for fairness." welcome both of you on this groundbreaking new day in news. this won't change the ideological balance of the court, you're replacing one liberal with another. it will change the diversity balance of the court. i think back to president biden, promising that his cabinet will look like america. and now it appears that the highest court in the land will look more like america as well. how significant is that? >> it is extraordinarily significant. i mean, it is not the idea of diversity for diversity's sake. every one

breyer quickly established himself as one of the supreme court's moderate liberals, who believed that interpreting the constitution must be practical, changing with the times >> the reason that i do that is because law in general, i think, grows out of communities of people who have some problems they want to solve. >> reporter: he wrote the court's opinion striking down a state law that bans some late-term abortions. he supported affirmative action and other civil rights measures and in a widely noted dissent in 2015, he said the death penalty in america had become so arbitrary that it was probably unconstitutional. >> his real legacy he wanted the law to work he didn't want just abstract legal rules that made no sense in the real world >> reporter: justice breyer will be around at least until late june when the term ends voting on the challenge to abortion rights and roe v. wade as well as cases on gun rights and religious freedom, one of the most important terms in years >> pete, you broke this story what do we know about the timing of his step-down? >> reporter: we haven't seen hi

breyer is one of the three remaining liberal justices. now it is up to president biden to appointsuccessor. on the campaign trail he vowed any nominee would be a black woman and mike memoli reports the white house has a list. the top name in speculation right now judge katanji brown jackson, joe biden recently appointed to the d.c. circuit court of appeals to replace merrick garland. jackson is a former clerk of justice breyer, confirmed in a 53-44 majority by the senate. joining me is nbc news justice correspondent pete williams, chief legal correspondent and host of "the beat" ari melber, kelly o'donnell and "slate" legal correspondent dahlia lithwick. pete, you broke this news. justice breyer himself has not announced it or made it official but can you tell us anything about the decision-making process behind his decision to retire? >> well, our understanding is he came to this decision within the last several weeks. he's obviously in good health. he is 83. he's the court's oldest member but that apparently did not -- his age or health

there has been no announcement from justice breyer. let him make whatever statement he's going to make and i will be happy to talk antibiotic later. >> joe biden was there at the beginning almost 28 years ago when justice breyer was before the senate justice committee. and now joe biden is going to be in charge of picking a replacement. all we know about that, is that he's pledged to pick a black woman. we don't know which one. but we do know the white house, at least today, is not entirely ruling out the possibility that it could be vice president kamala harris. >> would someone who was attorney general of a large state and served with many key senate votes be an attractive candidate to the president for an open supreme court seat? >> i see what you did there, peter, but the president has every intention, as he said before, of running for reelection and for running for reelection with vice president harris on the ticket as his partner. >> they really don't want to say yes or no to any questions about this because justice breyer has no

washington braces for the fight over who will fill justice breyer's seat. president biden and the justice appearing today. >>> no positive action. the quick take from the latest message on russia and nato over ukraine. what is the next move? >>> bracing for a blizzard. it's called a bomb cyclone and parts of the northeast may get over a foot of snow. thank you for being here. we begin with the biggest and longest lasting decision made by any president. the chance to choose a supreme court justice. justice stephen breyer, the most senior liberal justice on the high court gave president biden the historic opportunity. he's meeting with the president today at the white house and then they'll appear together to formally announce his plan to retire at the end of this term. the focus immediately shifts to the president and who he will select. already vowing to make good on his promise to nominate the first black woman to the supreme court. senate democrats are pushing for a quick confirmation process and the way senate rules are currently set up. they can confirm

it was very, very breyer and i loved it. maiya wily, before we get into the specifics of different potential nominees, this moment for women of color in the legal community. >> it is hard to overstate just how important and powerful and inspiring a moment this is. talking act women of color and black women in particular grossly underrespected on the bench. only 3% of federal judges are black women currently, and a big part of that is because for far too long highly qualified women of color have been overlooked or simply don't fit a box that is considered necessary to join the bench. and one of the exciting things that president biden has done even prior to this moment is not only appoint 42 new judges in his first year in office, which was a record, but so many of them look like the united states of america, including more black women. and that's critically important for the pipeline. you know, one thing i just want to note right here, chuck, is we often look at whether or not someone has been a supreme court clerk. as part

professor tribe, you have known justice breyer for a long time. what do you make of -- of his decision to retire? >> i think it was the right decision. it's really important to give president biden the chance to put the first african-american woman on the court and all of the nominees that are being bandied about are extraordinarily well-qualified by experience, by temperament, by brilliance. so i think that justice breyer really helped his legacy by not holding on any longer. >> the fact he is announcing his retirement in january, which is very early by court standards, in a midterm election year, what does it say to you in terms of concerns he may have about the politics of the looming confirmation process? >> well, if he were as concerned as i wish he had been about the politics of the process, he would have resigned sooner, still. he would have resigned before this term began last october because he's already waited -- even though it's early in the year -- he's waited well enough into the process, so that mitch mcconnell -- who is known for ta

when breyer has finished on the term. on the other hand, timing is interesting because this hearing is about a lot more than the nominee. first of all, it's going to be, as you said, the first african-american woman. that in itself is a huge milestone. but it's also going to play out while the supreme court is actually right now considering some of the biggest issues of the day. they're considering whether to overturn roe v. wade. they're considering whether to expand gun rights. next term, it will be affirmative action. some democrats see this as a rare opportunity to engage people who may not always be exactly focused on what's going on in the court to say, this is why it matters and, of course, durbin, it will be the first time he chairs one of these hearings. he'll be careful. he may not want to raise too much or take advantage of this opportunity that comes as the political process is set to play out in the upcoming elections. that's why the timing here is so interesting. >> clearly, ariane, put a lot of time and tho

this is the role that breyer reluctantly found himself in. if you have a more progressive agenda, maybe they can see the balance of the court change as well. >> this is going to be a historic proceeding ahead of us. i appreciate you, thiru and irin, for being here to talk about it. >>> why did a graphic novel about the holocaust just get banned from tennessee schools? >>> overnight, heated words from china and the taiwan on the olympics. they told antony blinken stop playing with fire. >>> and matt gaetz sex trafficking investigation. we have new details ahead. iablek is going ultra! with verizon 5g ultra wideband now in many more cities. hey, it's mindy! downloading a movie up to 10 times faster than before. whoa! is that done? (mindy) yep! (vo) verizon is going ultra, so you can too. the new ww personal points program. changed my life. you look great. no two plans are the same. you can even eat this and these in the sam i mean not at the same time. don't pay until spring. join today at ww.com. before nexium 24hr, anna could only imagine a c

justice stephen breyer is 83. they want to make sure that they fill or replace one liberal with another while they have the chance. what's the timeline look like? josh: a big difference from 2020, when it was liberal icon, the passing of ruth bader ginsburg, who was replaced by amy coney barrett and democrat heads exploding. now they will be able to still not shift the balance of the court, it would be a 6-3 court, sometimes feeling like a 5-4 court, but nonetheless the balance of power will not shift too much. that is why we will not see the same all out brawl we have seen in past hearings. president biden has signaled he will appoint a black woman or nominate a black woman to this position. they have made no secrets -- the people in the party wanted this retirement to happen so they would have the chance to put somebody in place that would not further shift the court with another conservative judge, for instance. and politically the president has faced pressure from voters of color for not doing enough on court

breyer, welcome. delighted to have you here. >> now, some 28 years later, biden will nominate breyer's replacement. the list likely candidates includes federal judge ketanji brown jackson. a former breyer law clerk and leondra krueger, justice on california supreme court. some wondered today if another candidate for the court, say someone close to the president, might garner a closer look. >> with someone who was attorney general of a large state and who served with many senate votes to be an candidate to the president for an open supreme court to question mike >> i see we did there for the present has any intention of running for reelection and for running for reelection with vice president harris on the ticket as his partner. >> that is the story. they are take mike sticking to it. you heard her say has every intention would you know is also washington speak for we will sue happens. as for the timing of all of this, democrats on capitol hill know all too well at the midterms are in fact looming and

liz: justice breyer' breyer' judge charles breyer, said this was not an impulsive decision. he told us his brother loves it -- loves his job, is in good health, and had to ruminate over this for sometime. he said ultimately his brother, the pragmatist, sided it was appropriate to step down. after nearly 30 years on the nation's highest court, justice stephen breyer is expected to announce retirement. the 83-year-old san francisco native is known as the court's ultimate magnet test and his mother, justice -- judge charles breyer, told abc 7 it is not that it is -- it is pragmatic thinking that led to this decision. >> he did not want to die on the bench. liz: judge breyer was nominated in 1994 by then president bill clinton. >> i was born and i grew up in san francisco. i attended public schools, grant , lowell high school. liz: as he introduced himself to the country that day, breyer has deep roots in the bay area, born in san francisco in 1938, became an eagle scout and graduated from lowell in 1935. he was -- 1955. he was on the forensics team. what is his approach to law?

front-runners for the seat to replace stephen breyer are all sitting judges. jackson, a one-time public defender who clerked for justice brian is reportedly the front-runner. michelle childs is a federal judge from south carolina with a pending confirmation to the dc circuit. she is a favorite of house majority whip jim clyburn who is credited with saving joe biden's presidential campaign. and leondra krugger sits on the california supreme court and has argued before the supreme court as a deputy solicitor general and has turned down offers to serve in the biden administration. joining us now, secretary and ceo of the phi beta kappa society, frederick lawrence, former president of the university and the author of the book "punishing hate, bias crimes under american law" thanks for joining us, lawrence. >> good morning. >> so this doesn't of course change the political makeup of the supreme court but how significant is it that president biden has announced he will choose a black woman to replace stephen breyer? >> it's very significant. the point that he will m

the second thing is breyer, i feel breyer was very good. i did not agree with everything, but basically, he served the courts, and it worked out well. one last thing -- the pandemic. i would love it if c-span could find someone who lived in the depression, to be able to share that experience with what it is like now with the pandemic. i love you folks, you excellent folks. thank you. host: this is the washington times this morning, mcconnell urges biden to avoid radical left in picking justice their headline. part of the statement from the senate republican leader, mitch mcconnell, says the american people elected a senate that is evenly split at 50-50 to the degree that president biden received a mandate, was through -- it was to govern through the middle. if the american people deserve a nominee with a demonstrated reference for the written text of our laws and constitution. let's hear from maryland in columbus -- maryland -- marilyn in columbus, ohio. mute your volume and go ahead with your comments. caller: i am from columbus, ohio, and

breyer is the court ears oldest justice at 83. he's set to a peer alongside president biden at the white house today to formally announce his retirement from the court which will take place at the end of the term. joining me is nbc news justice correspondent pete williams who was the first to break the news, as he always does. pete, good morning. walk us through what's next in the process and who is on the short list. >> well, the immediate next is that justice breyer will go to the white house this afternoon, we think, and formally hand the president his letter of resignation -- retirement, by the way. that's when we find out when he intends to step down, whether it's after all the decisions are handed down in late june or early july or when his successor is nominated and confirm. the white house at some point in the future will announce who the nominee will be to succeed him. our understanding is the two leading con ten jers are ketanji brown jackson, a federal appeals court judge in washington, put on the court to take the vaca

breyer is considered a more liberal judge. biden presumably will choose a liberal. even if the president picked somebody very liberal a dissent is a dissent. in that sense it wouldn't matter where on the political spectrum the future judge sat. now, unlike build back better, democrats don't have to worry about the filibuster when it comes to picking a new supreme court judge because republicans changed the rules to a straight up vote back when it was their turn to pick judges, but democrats will need all 506 their senators to vote yes on the pick. it's easy to forgot that the senate used to produce well-qualified picks with a bipartisan vote. when breyer went through the nom anything process back in 1994, the vote was 87 yes votes and 9 no votes. picking a few other nominations, ruth bader ginsburg sailed through the senate 97-3. her opponents knew she was a liberal, but they also knew she was a good judge and a patriot. chief justice john roberts 78 yes votes. the recently retired justice kennedy appointed by ronald reagan unanimous, scalia and sandra day o'connor

president biden will now have a chance to nominate a successor to stephen breyer. let us start with tensions around ukraine. russia wants the u.s. to give a guarantee that ukraine will never join nato. here is the u.s. secretary of state. >> our response reflects what i said last week. we are open to dialogue. we prefer diplomacy and are prepared to move forward where there is the possibility of medication, cooperation. if russia deescalate, stops the inflammatory rhetoric, and approaches discussions about security in a spirit of reciprocity. ros: the secretary-general of nato. >> every nation has the right to choose its own path. nato respects a country or a nation whethey decide to apply for nato membership, as for instance ukraine, or when they decide to not apply, as finland and sweden have done. this is about respecting the right for self determination. ros: but the focus is the border between ukraine and russia. over 100,000 russian troops are amassed. we know there are also in neighboring belarus. this is the mission we -- message we received from the russia

you clerked for both justices breyer and kagan. what do you think of that analysis? >> i think it's important, jake, to recognize that the president has an opportunity to nominate a justice that has to rise and meet the moment that we're in. i think joan is right to say that when justice breyer is gone, there will be a hole in the court, but i think there's already a hole in the court because that middle ground that might have existed years ago we're seeing already is disappearing or gone. the court even in the past year or two or even the past few months has shown that it's a court that's trying to run, not walk, towards substantially rewriting and overhauling aspects of our constitution that have been standinging for decad. so a justice coming on the bench now is going to be dissenting and joining two women who are really quite good at dissenting, elena kagan and sonia sotomayor, who know how to write discents that make it clear to the public just what's happening at the court, at their court, at our court, and i think that's important. the ability to have that cla

we're going to hear much more about justice breyer's legacy tomorrow. he will appear with president biden tomorrow afternoon to formally announce his retirement. looking forward to that event. to our viewers, thanks for watching. erin burnett "out front" starts right now. >>> it's putin's call, the u.s. responds to the russian president's security demands regarding ukraine. is it enough for putin to back down. >>> supreme court justice stephen breyer is retiring, paving the way to name his successor, who's on the short list. and could having any role in january 6th disqualify some from becoming president. that's the legal challenge. let's go out front. good evening, i'm erin burnett. awaiting putin's response, russia's president to respond to written responses to putin's demand. >> we make clear there are core principles we are committed to uphold and defend, including ukraine sovereignty, and territorial integrity, and the rights to choose security arrangements and alliances. the document is with them, and the ball is in their court. we'll see what we

reggie: now at breyer expected to announce his retirement officially today. some of the women who could end up replacing him. >> attacks like this prompted oakland restaurants to make a change. new option aimed at keeping customers safe. reggie: tracking the sub-variants of omicron found in more than 20 states. what scientists have learned. >> amy schneider's historic run on jeopardy. her message to fans after her final show. good morning everyone, it is thursday, january 7. reggie: we will start with a thursday weather. drew: we have a lot less fog. good morning, down to a mile and a half. nevada, four miles. elsewhere, we are doing better. clear skies for a lot of us allowing temperatures to start out on a

looks like breyer's official retirement announcement is tomorrow. what do you know? what can you tell us? >> yeah. the white house has been very hesitant to say anything on the record, so far. president biden himself today said i am not saying anything until justice breyer has officially announced this. we all know it's coming. everyone has reported it. no one has denied it but we are expecting -- expecting it to be official tomorrow, don. and i am told by sources that there will be an event here at the white house with president biden and justice breyer tomorrow. it is not on the official schedule just released by the white house but we are told you should expect to see both of them. and so, of course, that is going to be a big moment for this president. big moment for justice breyer, who is the oldest supreme court justice on the court right now on the bench. and of course, a big moment for president biden who has been talking about who he would put on the court if he got the opportunity but not every president gets the opportunity to actually do so. so, this is go

justice stephen breyer set to retire. and we have now learned that president biden will make the announcement official at the white house tomorrow. the 83-year-old justice breyer, the most senior member of the liberal wing. tonight, president biden, what he said today about justice breyer and what comes next. the president campaigning on a promise to nominate a black woman to the supreme court. tonight, the short list right here. and how quickly will the senate move? what we're learning already. terry moran at the supreme court. mary bruce at the white house. rachel scott on the hill. >>> also tonight, what could be a dangerous nor'easter. this evening, the two new models just in. the two possible tracks. and how much snow is possible?

justice stephen breyer, set to retire. president biden's first chance to nominate a justice to the high court. the 83-year-old justice breyer, the most senior member of the liberal wing. tonight, president biden, what he said today about justice breyer and what comes next. the president campaigning on a promise to nominate a black woman to the supreme court. tonight, the short list right here. and how quickly will the senate move? what we're learning already. terry moran at the supreme court. mary bruce at the white house. rachel scott on the hill. >>> also tonight, what could be a dangerous nor'easter. this evening, the two now models just in. the two possible tracks and how much snow is possible? from philadelphia up through new york city and into new england. rob marciano timing it all out. >>> tonight,

today he refused to answer questions about breyer's retirement. kaitlan collins suggests, he is ready to fulfill a campaign promise on who he'll pick. >> reporter: with justice stephen breyer set to retire, president biden now has his first chaks to nominate a new justice to the supreme court. >> there has been no announcement from justice breyer. let him make whatever statement he'll make and i'll be happy to talk about it later. >> reporter: the president declining to go into detail ahead of a formal announcement expected tomorrow. sources say breyer informed the west wing of his decision last week. >> every justice has the right and opportunity to decide what he or she do and announce it on their own. >> reporter: biden now faces a major decision. as aides say he is still committed to this promise that he made on the campaign trail. >> if i'm elected and have an opportunity to appoint someone to the courts, i will appoint the first black woman to the court. it is required they have representation now. it is long overdue. >> the president has st

it comes from retiring supreme court justice stephen breyer. and though he spoke today at the white house with the warmth and gentle humor for which he is known, his message was unmistakable. american democracy cannot be taken for granted. it is not self-sustaining. >> i will tell you what lincoln thought, what washington thought, and what people today still think. it's an experiment. it's an experiment. that's what they said. each of our grandchildren a certain amount of money to memorize the gettysburg address. the reason -- the reason that -- that -- that we want them to pick up there and what i want those students to pick up if i can remember the first two lines is four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought -- created upon this -- here a new country. a country, that was dedicated to liberty and the proposition that all men are created equal. conceived in liberty. those are his words. and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. and we are now engaged in a great-civil war. to determine whether that nation or any

at an event to formalize the announcement of justice breyer 's retirement. president biden also invited justice breyer and his wife to come have a sleepover in the lincoln bedroom sometime if they want to. president biden, at the white house today reiterated his

it isn't often one person paves a way for others to make history just as stephen breyer's does just that. a formal announcement could come from the president tomorrow and though it won't tilt the balance, the departure allows president biden to fiulfill a campaign promise that may change the face of it. we'll be joined by james clyburn who also paved the way by making sure then candidate biden made this commitment. >> we talked about the supreme court, i'm looking forward to making sure there's a black woman on the supreme court to make sure in fact that every -- i committed that if i'm elected president, have an opportunity to appoint someone to the courts will be, i'll appoint the first black woman to the courts. it's required they have representation now. it's long overdue. >> we are putting together a list of a group of african american women who are qualified and have the experience to be in the court. i am not going to release that until we go further down the line and vetting them as well. >> well, there are plenty of highly qualified candidates, some of whom are already vetted. w

and then today biden appeared at the white house alongside breyer to officially announce breyer's retirement, but made clear to reporters he would not take questions. >> i'm not going to take any questions, because i think it's inappropriate to take questions with the justice here. he is still sitting on the bench. but you'll have plenty of opportunities to get me later today and for the rest of the week next week, too so thank you very much thank you. [ reporters clamoring >> seth: and thank goodness this time president biden made sure to walk away from the microphone, because we all know what happens when he doesn't >> no, it's a great asset. more inflation what a stupid son of a bitch [ laughter ] >> seth: here -- here, though, here -- here's my question about that did he really think no one would hear him i mean, even if the mic wasn't there, you're still in a roomful of people, you're surrounded by reporters. you're on camera even if biden just mouthed the words, i'm pretty sure we could have read his lips like, watch my mouth [ laughter ] i think you can tell what i just said even with