that's one of the justifications that ruth bader ginsburg gave. it was her relationships that could help shape and create coalitions and consensus and that's what breyer has been able to do as well. >> the successor is only going to hold the liberal seat. they're not going to advance a liberal agenda in any way. but one other thing that justice ruth bader ginsburg used to say is descenting opinions are not written for today. they're writton for tomorrow tomorrow. so, even if the successor justice to justice breyer is not offering for majority. it may take a while to get to the point where there's a majority with a more progressive world view. but we need to think of the work of the court for the next generation. yesterday's descent can be the next generation' majority opinion. i think whoever this person is needs to be thut of that way. using the seat for a moderate voigs might be a mistake. it might be a time to go for a progressive voice. you have to get the person confirmed in the senate. that will require the support of joe manchin and sinema.

the shadow of ruth bader ginsburg's death and amy coheny barrett after rapid confirmation, taking justice ginsburg's seat on the court, encapsulated by the covid pandemic, the 2020 election and all the stuff that we know about. what i try to do was channel the court in real time. i wrote every chapter, what happens in that month is an honest account. i didn't go back at the end and do things i would have gotten wrong, a case that was argued in november and decided in june, the decision didn't quite track my perception of the argument, that is life. or did she miss a signal there or something? something that would have taken over to my eyes as a decade as a court watcher and my professional life since the 70s. it is what it is. >> host: we go along, i will mainly ask about the substance of the book but also asking about the writing because this was quite a challenge to do it the way you did it, to have it be edited simultaneously as so much was unfolding. let's start in the beginning. i found your focus early on with new justice amy coheny barrett was prescient with the focus on abortion,

democrats, remember, ruth bader ginsburg was sick in the obama days. she stayed in the fight and, bless her, she was a warrior. a lot of liberals thought we lost that, we lost the opportunity to republic place ruth bader ginsburg. justice breyer said, eh, listen. >> what do you say to people who argue that you should retire as soon as possible while the democrats have the senate majority? that's the basic issue those pro protesters are saying? >> that's their point of view. there are a lot of considerations. i don't want to add to what i've said tonight. every time i add something it becomes a big story. the less i add, the better. i think i have most of the considerations in mind and i simply have to weigh them and think about them and depp side when the proper time is. i've also said i hope i don't die on the supreme court. and there we are. >> and here we are. it's a funny answer because justice breyer is a funny man. obviously he brushed off that criticism because that's what you do until you make that decision. now the president of the united stat

. >> and it did, and on march 19th, and ruth bader ginsburg wouldn't until the middle of june. >> but wasn't, what will rethinking like a very question of her credibility the focus on the trump administration is under the judiciary, i can't be specific it, the aspects the people around him and major cheerleader and getting in the way from getting hold of the judiciary had 200 attendance were reported. and they all showed up on time. >> i wanted to go to religion more broadly because that's a very deep theme of your book but before we go i just have to ask how we decided that to use this comparison as i know and you know, and want people watching the snow, as linda was writing this, missus america was on the airr and linda draws a comparisn wanted to tell us how you sent them on that. >> yeah, so i think the main sources to watch is very popular influential thing and i was writing years ago on the history of the sand. [inaudible]. actually they made a big role in this effortless defeat. and to say that this is added to the constitutional rights to the abortion. in doing that, she was a

circuit, did ruth bader ginsburg come from the d.c. circuit judge of i don't think so. ms. sotomayor: i just wanted to ask, do you think that childs' most recent nomination to the circuit court --i believe her hearing may be underway as soon as next week -- do you think that could be a consolidation in some ways, because she may not be picked to serve on the supreme court? rep. clyburn: i will let the white house do what they would like to do with this. i'm just making my feelings known. i suspect there are people in the white house that would feel differently than many people around the country. i'm letting my feelings be known, and the white house can do what they feel they need to do, and i will just react accordingly. ms. sotomayor: now i want to move on to voting rights. that, of course, is probably the second issue most important to you, if not the first one as you continue to look at these next months ahead during i remember last year -- ahead. i remember last year you want democrats that if the filibuster was not removed, you could lose a lot of reliable lot -- reli

even more so since the death of ruth bader ginsburg september 2020 before the presidential elections because they lost someone who was seen as a liberal icon. since then, they have been pushing for stephen breyer to retire in time to give the possibility to joe biden to appoint a replacement to him on the bench. that is important because the midterms are coming up soon. november 2022. what the left wants is for joe biden to be able to nominate and confirm through the senate his appointee before the midterm elections because there is a good chance that the democrats could lose the majority in the senate then lose the opportunity to be able to push through their own nominees for the supreme court. it could go very fast if you take the example of ruth bader ginsburg, she died at the end of september. a week later amy coney barrett was nominated by donald trump and one month later, she was confirmed by the senate. we could see that process go through possibly before the summer. that's what the democrats would hope for, that this process goes fast and is done way before the elections. >>

ruth bader ginsburg comes from the d.c. circuit, i do not think so. >> do you think that the most recent nomination to the d.c. circuit court, her hearing may be underway as soon as next week over in the senate, could that be a consolidation in some ways because she may not be picked as this report nominee? >> now. . i am making my feelings known, i am sure that there are people in the white house who feels differently. i have let my feelings be known and the white house can do what they feel they need to do, i will react accordingly. >> want to move on to voting rights and that is the second issue, most important to you. the first one, as you look at the next months ahead, you actually warned democrats that if the filibuster was not removed, especially on voting rights, you could lose a lot of reliable black voters who have turned out over the last several elections, especially who came out for biden because of the thought that he and a democratic congress could deliver. i know that the latest polls have shown that within

circuit, did ruth bader ginsburg come from the d.c. circuit judge of i don't think so. ms. sotomayor: i just wanted to ask, do you think that childs' most recent nomination to the d.c. circuit court --i believe her hearing may be underway as soon as next week -- do you think that could be a consolidation in some ways, because she may not be picked to serve on the supreme court? rep. clyburn: i will let the white house do what they would like to do with this. i'm just making my feelings known. i suspect there are people in the white house that would feel differently than many people around the country. i'm letting my feelings be known, and the white house can do what they feel they need to do, and i will just react accordingly. ms. sotomayor: now i want to move on to voting rights. that, of course, is probably the second issue most important to you, if not the first one as you continue to look at these next months ahead. i remember last year you want -- warned democrats that if the filibuster was not removed, you could lose a lot of reliable black voters who have turned out

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bader ginsburg. that means a lot. but this is a moment for another reason, too. and that's because the supreme court right now as we said, they're discussing whether or not to overturn roe v. wade. they're discussing behind closed doors whether to expand gun rights. next year, it's affirmative action. all that is going to be playing out this spring at the same time that we have these confirmation hearings and that means the democrats are going to be -- be able to engage people that they don't -- may not usually be paying attention. they're going to see what happens at the supreme court. and these hearings are going to be going on at the same time. yamiche: well, thank you so much, ariane, for joining the show tonight. and sharing your reporting. i want to now move on to the other of course big issue of the weekend it is the escalating tensions between russia and ukraine. on monday, the pentagon announced that 8,500 american troops have been placed on high alert for possible deployment to eastern euro

bader ginsburg. that means a lot. but this is a moment for another reason, too and that's because the supreme court right now as we said, they're discussing whether or not to overturn roe v. wade. they're discussing behind closed doors whether to expand gun rights. next year, it's affirmative action. all that is going to be playing out this spring at the same time that we have these confirmation hearings and that means the democrats are going to be -- be able to engage people that they don't -- may not usually be paying attention. they're going to see what happens at the supreme court. and these hearings are going to be going on at the same time. yamiche: well, thank you so much, ariane, for joining the show tonight. and sharing your reporting. i want to now move on to the other of course big issue of the weekend it is the escalating tensions between russia and ukraine. on monday, the pentagon announced that 8,500 american troops have been placed on high alert for possible deployment to eastern europ

look what happened after the death of justice ruth bader ginsburg. justice barrett pushed through in record time. one of the reasons, i suppose, you voted against her. >> the reason i voted against amy coney barrett was the nomination and vacancy occurred too close to the election, the presidential election. republicans just in the obama administration had established a precedent that we were not going to confirm someone -- it was merrick garland in that case. i did not agree with that decision. once that precedent was established and given how close the death of the supreme court justice was to when the appointment was made of justice barrett, i felt that it was -- should have been up to the next president to make the decision. >> you voted for judge ketanji brown jackson to elevation to the d.c. court of appeals. if she's the president's nominee, will you support her for the supreme court? >> i'll certainly give her every consideration. i have no idea since she was confirmed what rulings she's been involved in, what writing she has done. i've not m

ruth bader ginsburg so a woman would be on their side when they overturn roe v. wade. they can miss me over their identity politics right now when they have been practicing it for years when it comes to supreme court nominations and federal court nominations. when you look at just the raw qualifications, the raw accomplishments of the people their a being bantered about, share lynn ifill, head of the naacp, thurgood marshall's old job. who biden has to pick from are generous. we will get a great pick no matter which direction he goes in. >> playing game theory here, sophia, why should democrats assume that the only time they will get to pick supreme court justices is when they have a democratic president and a democratic senate? >> well, i mean, i think that's the way this works, right? it's the same with the republicans. so i think that right now what justice breyer is doing is really patriotic of him in the sense that he wants to preserve his -- he's considered a liberal, right? and he wants to preserve that seat knowing if he were to do what ruth bader ginsbur

caller: i want to ask the guest, ruth bader ginsburg hired 180 seven lana clarkson only two were blacks. is that a racist act? guest: thanks for the question. i do believe, and i hope that was not meant to be a gotcha question as if people who are great on some issues -- ruth bader ginsburg -- may she rest in peace -- was a lion of the feminist movement who was an extra ordinary mind, who set up core principles through her legal advocacy and then from her time on the bench that make people rights and freedom of opportunity and fairness war within reach for everyone, including the caller. she was a lien on so many issues -- she was a lion on 70 issues. nobody is infallible. everyone has blind spots. the system that feeds up to elite law clerks. i can say this from experience. i went to law school. i saw who was able to move on, to have that very elite job. that system is racist in the sense that it builds on a lot of different exclusionary practices all along the path of education, from the very youngest, the idea that we do not have universal childcare and preschool in this country, so

there's a ruth bader ginsburg doll. are posters up bailey a golden retriever who's wanted for stealing a burrito? lots of in the background? and i have to take a charlene is so wonderful. the overall is this very um division of it. is this very coherent world that you enter polly's world and colors are wonderful. but on second look you start to realize there are more jokes in this thing than it looks like and same on third same on fourth, you know, we're gonna make this fun for the children to whom this is red, but all so fun for the adults who are reading it. so all right books with words. and so i thought about okay. i knew what the storyline was exactly what it was that i wanted to tell. and i thought of this as a mother who has read about a bazillion books out loud and as a grandmother who has read about eight billion books out loud. i thought of it in terms of page turns. how much you can tell and then it's time to turn the page and what stays engaging so i wrote it up. and then i took a plain white paper, you know

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 looking for? guest: the president is a little constrained by his own campaign promise to appoint a black woman to the court. the number of eligible candidates is smaller, as a result. especially if he is looking for people who are already serving on the federal court. which is usually where presidents look. that is one issue. within the democrat party, the aspect of the moderates and the more left people. there will be some tension there as to what parts of the democratic party want. as with other biden judicial nominations so far, the democratic party has kept together in pushing through his judges -- senate democratic

yes, he did dodge the outcome of what happened with ruth bader ginsburg not retiring earlier. and you have a favorite -- pick yourself judge that biden should appoint himself? a lot of progressives as well as the attorney general from your state of new york have suggested eunice cheryl lee, and the legal defense fund? >> well, you know, thankfully there is no shortage of profound intelligent, accomplished, and just you know, genius frankly, legal genius that we have of black women that would be more than suited to serve on the supreme court. i believe cheryl is a profound and wonderful candidate. i don't have a specific name right now, but thankfully we have a really strong bench of nominees. >> so, it is funny that the gop brought in a carve out from the filibuster for supreme court nominees that everyone is about happily use, but two democrats couldn't get on board with a filibuster carve out for voting rights just last week. i wonder, do you think president biden came too late to the fight on voting rights? was too late in coming out against the filibuster, that he should h

and remember ruth bader ginsburg was really part of that group. and what is fascinating is that she in many ways was almost typical of her generation and that she sort of stepped back a bit when she and marnie were here at harvard and then he left and went to new york. she left. she went in transferred to columbia. and when his job became very demanding and they had two children, and she for a short time, stayed with the kids and his career as a tax lawyer began to take off. and then we know things changed. and then we fast forward from group three, two group five. so group three putting family first and then having a job or career as ruth bader ginsburg certainly did. then we move into generation that were enabled because they had a birth control pill to not tie the knot early, but to delay marriage, to delay children, and to invest in their career. and this history then, leads us to ask the question, so then what happened : : one the concepts, one of the themes rather that you visit a couple different times throughout this is the challenge of ti

last term he was urged to step down because of what happened with ruth bader ginsburg. there were many progressives who said she stayed on the court too long. her death during the trump administration gave the president a chance to appoint her successor, amy coney barrett, which gave the court a solid 6-3 conservative majority. last term people were urging breyer to step down immediately. i think that stiffened his resolve to say. he knows his way around washington, he's a former chief council of the senate judiciary committee. he's well aware this is the best chance for the president to nominate someone while the democrats still control the white house and the senate. >> pete williams, thank you so much for being with me this morning. >> you bet. >>> now to the latest on the escalating tensions between russia and the ukraine. the kremlin says vladimir putin is reviewing written responses from the u.s. and nato to russian demands. there are few reasons for optimism this morning. this comes one day after the u.s. ambassador to russia personally delivered what secretary o

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 issues, like on things with police reform, and if he had an opportunity to make a high-profile denomination, there could be political dividends for the democrats on that. it looks like we will have something coming in the summer time if

that was ruth bader ginsburg, as a matter of fact. so he's given president biden plenty of time to get a successor through the process and he's done one other important thing. he said he will not leave until his successor is confirmed, and justices in recent years have not done that at all. the last time that caveat was in there was in 2005 with sandra day o'connor. >> there will be nine justices, not eight. joan biskupic, thank you very much. >>> we're covering all these major angles with our legal and political experts. jeffrey toobin you've written an excellent book on the inner workings of the supreme court. given all you know about his work and justice breyer, put this into context for us. >> there's only 120 supreme court justices in all of history. any time one leaves, it's a big deal. all 120 -- not one has been a black woman. so we know that there will be historic replacement. stephen breyer was a liberal, but a particular kind of liberal. he was a problem solver. he loved to use the word workable. he was the father of the fe

clinton chose ruth bader ginsburg instead. but a year latercl when a secon vasionbu sy occurred upon the retirement of justice harry blackmun, it was breyer who got the nod. in many respects his monuments were not so much the decisions that he authored as the decisions that he influenced behind the scene, the justice pushedne and prodded his fellow justice for consensus on everything from obama care to affirmative action in higher education. t joining us now is nina totenberg, legal affairs correspondent for npr and national treasure, it is great to have you with us tonight. thanks for making time. >> it's lovely to be here, rachel, after a long day for those of us who cover the court. i did want to say one thing about ronald reagan and joe biden. these are two men who have some things in common. they don't generally make promises that they don't believe in. and reagan actually believed in the idea of appointing a woman to the court. and just before he made the promise, a bunch of his young age tried to talk to him out of it a

what happened with ruth bader ginsburg really was fairly catastrophic for the left. that was a true flipped seat, and i don't think breyer wanted to be blamed for that. he's intellectually as sharp as he has ever been, and that's saying a lot, because he's quite brilliant, and he has not diminished at all. and so he's not leaving the bench because he's lost a step. he's leaving the bench to stay ahead of the midterm elections and to guarantee that the court does not flip another seat in terms of the ideological balance of the court. >> sandra: jonathan, just looking at the ages of the justices, i'll ask you the question, do you believe that there will be pressure put on any of the other justices, obviously noting justice breyer is the oldest currently sitting on the court, could there possibly be any pressure put on other justices to retire that might be getting up there? >> well, i don't know how successful demand justice is going to be by pleading with justice thomas to retire. my expectation is he's probably not going to find that particularly compelling. you know

so, he was able and ruth bader ginsburg, they were able to craft these consensus decisions. and they were not as isolated as the three members now are. >> you know, i think it's important to remember justice breyer's been on court for 27 years and been in the minority more often in political terms in all of that time. he joined the rank court, was the junior member for 11 years. longer than anyone but one person in the history of the country. and he's had a real impact because of his willingness to find common ground and consensus building. he is an optimist. he really believes that if we talk to one another, if we have deliberations -- not just talk through the oral argument or through memos but walk down the hall and talk to people. which is something he regularly has done at the court. he thinks that's how you find common ground and persuade and that's how you listen. i think for my expectation is that is still the case today and perhaps there are fewer opportunities for that. one of the things that was so interesting about the rinks court is there were many different coa

. >> his retirement avoids the scenario democrats faced when justice ruth bader ginsburg passed away, when a republican nominee swung the balance in favor of conservative. democratic senate leaders are already calling for a prompt confirmation once president biden announces his pick. during his run for the white house, the president made his thoughts on the nominee very clear. >> i've committed if i'm elect ed, i will appoint the first black woman to the court. it's require thad they have representation now. it's long overtu. >> belong the early names mentioned, federal d.c. appeals court judge ketanji jackson and leondra kruger. clerk whose served with him were often given vice from former senator ted kennedy. >> when we were working on an opinion and there was an issue we trying to hash out, he would say work it out. work it out. >> breyer is a graduate and native of california and his older brother hopes to see him more. >> i hope he spends more time in california. that's hardly a sentence. >>> up next, nearly $40 billion. governor newsom lays out a plan to battle climate change. t

clinton chose ruth bader ginsburg instead. but a year later when it was stephen breyer who got the nomination. -- also said, quote, in many respects, breyer's monuments are not so much of the decisions that he authored as the decisions that he influenced behind the scenes, he pushed and prodded his fellow justices for consensus on the obamacare -- joining us now is, nina totenberg, national treasure. miss totenberg, thank you for coming with us tonight. >> it is lovely to be here, rachel, after a long day. i did want to say one thing to you about ronald reagan and joe biden. these are two men who -- they don't, generally, make promises that they do not believe and. and reagan actually believed in the idea -- and when he, just before he made -- a bunch of his young aides tried to talk him out of it and they said, you should name scalia, somebody like that. not use your first, and possibly only, nomination to this woman that we don't know that much about. and he said, i like her. she is a westerner. i like her ethics. i like the

. >> ruth baders ginsburg had almost received icon status, but to me stephen breyer was the most talk atiff. he would show up at a new yorker festival and do a q&a. he would occasionally do interviews. he didn't mind talking about life at the supreme court, and it was so unusual. usually his eight other colleagues didn't. who becomes the most loquacious and you have he leaves. >> ruth bader ginsburg did a lot of interviews, but you're right, he loved to talk about the law, the job of the supreme court justice. there's a famous pictures of him wearing a cat in the hat hat reading to kids. i'm not sure there's anybody, really that will step into those shoes. sonia sotomayor gets out there, but she tends to talk about her books. there was a lot of law professor in justice breyer, and you sometimes heard it on the bench, when he would ask long-winding hypothetical questions that were, you know, entertaining and sometimes illuminating, but, yeah, he had a great intellect -- has a great intellect. i remember talking to him once about when he learned french, because he loves france. he's gon

that nomination would ultimately go to ruth bader ginsburg. but one year later he nominated another. >> the nomination is confirmed. >> ian millhiezer described the story how breyer sended to the nation's highest court as, quote, a reminder of how our politics has changed over the past generation. so is the bipartisanship that played a key role in breyer's pathway to the court and later served on the bench just a relic of the past? is it over? is it done? and if that's true what does that actually mean for the future of our politics? let's discuss that and a lot more with ian millhiezer. great to have you with us, excellent reporting as always. great context and insight. let's talk a little about this. we just walked through how breyer ascended to the court, but let's talk about his legacy for a moment. what legacy does he leave behind? >> so the deal making skills that he showed when he was working in the senate, that was also what he brought to supreme court. you know, when there was a point when justice kennedy had written an opinion that w

bader ginsburg? >> actually it isn't exactly the same. i've looked at what was done in both cases, and what president biden did was as a candidate make this pledge. and that helped politicize the entire nomination process. what president reagan said is as one of his supreme court justices, he would like to appoint a woman. >> that's what republican senator susan collins is trying to hang her flimsy argument on, that ronald reagan said one of his picks. in that case let's look at what president ronald reagan actually did, not what he said. oh, look, his first nominee to the court was sandra day o'connor in 1981. as is always the case for any president with any nominee, there was no guarantee that reagan would get another pick. in fact he did not name another nominee until his second term when he had the opportunity to appointing three, antonin scalia, william rehnquist and kennedy. jonathan turley accused president biden of confirmation bias. while georgetown law's elia shapiro said his pick would be

yes, he did dodge the outcome of what happened with ruth bader ginsburg not retiring earlier. and you have a favorite -- pick yourself judge that biden should appoint himself? a lot of progressives as well as the attorney general from your state of new york have suggested cheryl, and the legal defense fund? >> well, you know, thankfully there is no shortage of profound intelligent, accomplished, and just you know, genius frankly, legal genius that we have of black women that would be more than suited to serve on the supreme court. i believe cheryl is a profound and wonderful candidate. i don't have a specific name right now, but thankfully we have a really strong bench of nominees. >> so, it is funny that the gop brought in a carve out from the filibuster for supreme court nominees that everyone is about happily use, but two democrats couldn't get on board with a filibuster carve out for voting rights just last week. i wonder, do you think president biden came too late to the fight on voting rights? was too late in coming out against the filibuster, that he should have led thi

but aides said he didn't click with the president, who turned and said to ruth bader ginsburg. one big advantage for breyer, he's very well liked in the senate. >> that proved to be true, he was well liked and respected. i walked through some of numbers over the years when the very partisan senate still was not so partisan they couldn't put forward qualified nominees under the court. he was confirmed 87-9. then senator biden was in charge of those hearings. >> today the senate judiciary committee welcomes judge stephen breyer, the president's nominee to be associate justice of the supreme court of the united states. in each of the confirmation hearings that i've had the privilege to chair, i've tried to look at the broader issues at stake when we confirm a nominee to the court. to consider the values by which our nation defines and redefines itself over time and the means by which government can best express and defend those values. so we welcome you here today, judge, not merely to measure your competence to sit on the court, but to engage us in a discussion of those important

this time ruth bader ginsburg. her death also came during an election year. but this time, the election was not nine months away. it was 45 days away, literally. and senator mitch mcconnell decided, yeah, all that stuff i decided about not confirming a justice in an election year, you can forget that. he proceeded to rush through the nomination of amy coney barrett at record speed. it took 27 days from tip to tail. and that, of course, is a glaring example of senator mcconnell's hypocrisy and duplicity, i'm sorry to have to say that way. but it's also a precedent. and democrats said today, upon the announced retirement of justice stephen breyer that they want to confirm justice breyer's confirmation just as quickly as amy coney barrett's. meaning that they think the whole thing can be done in the month. and democrats control the senate by the thinnest of margins. but to the extent that senator mitch mcconnell and the republicans have control over anything related to this confirmation, i think we should reasonably expect, based on recent history, that we could

that nomination would ultimately go to ruth bader ginsburg. but one year later clinton nominated hatch's other suggestion to the supreme court to fill another vacancy. >> by a vote of 87 ays, 9 nays, the nomination is confirmed. >> ian millhiser described the story how breyer ascended to the nation's highest court as, quote, a reminder of how our politics has changed over the past generation. so is the bipartisanship that played a key role in breyer's pathway to the court and later served on the bench just a relic of the past? is it over? is it done? and if that's true what does that actually mean for the future of our politics? let's discuss that and a lot more with ian millhiser. great to have you with us, excellent reporting as always. great context and insight. let's talk a little about this. we just walked through how breyer ascended to the court, but let's talk about his legacy for a moment. what legacy does he leave behind? >> so the deal making skills that he showed when he was working in the senate, that was also what he brought to su

bader ginsburg in 2020. now justice sort of mayor, the longest-serving liberal member. a dozen years on the bench, a fire approached criticizing her conservative college and choosing at times not to joined compromised outside justices breyer and kagan, elena kagan supports other democratic appointees. the president yesterday the announcement at the white house talked about the type of justice he plans on appointing. >> i will select the nominee for justice breyer's legacy. while studying candidates backgrounds, i've made no decision except one. person i will nominate will be of extraordinary qualification, character, experience and integrity. i will be the first black woman ever nominated to the united states supreme court is long overdue in my book. i made that commitment in the campaign for president and i will keep that commitment. i will fully do what i said, i will fulfill my duties despite the justice not only with the senate's consent but advice, another nominee process, seeking the advice as well as

bader ginsburg. >> the view on the left that justice ginsburg should have stepped down to allow president obama to nominate her replacement, i think for a lot of liberals that was a cautionary tale about not retiring under a president who would nominate a like-minded successor. >> reporter: for many urging retirement, their message wasn't sult. >> kind of ticked him off a little bit. he very pointedly said, if justices follow the political will of partisans about when they retire, the public will lose respect for the court. >> reporter: on the 2020 campaign trail, joe biden promised to appoint the first black female supreme court justice. >> i'm looking forward to making sure there's a black woman on the supreme court to make sure we, in fact, get every representation. >> the court is dealing constantly with questions of race and policing and the electoral process and questions that touch on race across many bodies of law. >> reporter: biden's likely short list includes 51-year-old federal appellate judge ketanji brown jackson, who clerked under breyer. >> the most likely candidate is jud

. >> reporter: his retirement avoids the scenario democrats faced when justice ruth bader ginsburg passed away when a republican nominee swung the balance of the court in fair of conservatives, leaders are calling for a prompt confirmation. president made thoughts on nominee clear. >> i committed if i'm elected president have opportunity to appoint the first black woman to the court, required they have representation now, it's long overdue. >> reporter: early names, federal d.c. appeals court judge jackson, and california supreme court justice kruger. will follow a justice who sought consensus behind the scenes. first job with former senator ted kennedy. >> working on opinion, issue we were trying to hash out with other chambers, he would say go work it out. >> reporter: breyer a son of san francisco, a graduate of lowell high school and now he's announced retirement, younger brother hopes to see him more. >> hope he spends more time in california, that's hardly a sentence. >>> we're back in 60 seconds. hard to ignore, heated debate over digital billboards and where you could soon see the

bader ginsburg? >> actually it isn't exactly the same. i've looked at what was done in both cases, and what president biden did was as a candidate make this pledge. and that helped politicize the entire nomination process. what president reagan said is as one of his supreme court justices, he would like to appoint a woman. >> that's what republican senator susan collins is trying to hang her flimsy argument on, that ronald reagan said one of his picks. in that case let's look at what president ronald reagan actually did, not what he said. oh, look, his first nominee to the court was sandra day o'connor in 1981. as is always the case for any president with any nominee, there was no guarantee that reagan would get another pick. in fact he did not name another nominee until his second term when he had the opportunity to appoint three justices, antonin scalia, william rehnquist and kennedy. jonathan turley accused president biden of confirmation bias. by using an exclusionary criteria of race and sex. wh

ruth bader ginsburg sailed through the senate, 97-3. chief justice john roberts 78 yes votes. justice kennedy appointed by ronald reagan, unanimous. scalia and sandra day o'connor, also unanimous. president biden says he'll choose an african american woman to join the high court. she would be the first. now, whoever that is, marcus, because we don't know who that is just yet. >> before you go, i know justice breyer said he's actually going to stick around until his replacement is confirmed. is that unusual? >> reporter: you know, that's an excellent question, marcus. as far as my memory serves, it is really unusual. by confirmed, remember, he means approved by the senate. so not just nominated. past retirements have come before the new justice was confirmed. remember, there's nothing saying the court can't work with fewer than nine justices. the tricky thing to me, just thinking theoretically about waiting until the next justice is approved, is that it sets up potential problems theoretically. what if you change your mind and don't step down, for instance? you can't make breye

bader ginsburg stayed on the court too long despite battles with cancer. her death allowed president trump to appoint amy coney barrett, giving the court a super solid 6-3 conservative majority breyer said last fall that he knew of the pressure for him to step down while democrats control the white house and the senate, which would vote on confirming his successor. >> i have most of the considerations in mind, and i simply have to weigh them and think about them and decide when the proper time is. i've also said that i hope i don't die on the supreme court. >> reporter: any nominee of president biden's to succeed justice breyer, if confirmed, would maintain that current 6-3 ideological split. >> i stephen breyer do solemnly swear. >> reporter: bill clinton nominated breyer, then a federal judge in boston, to the supreme court court in 1994. he was confirmed 87-9. 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