Mitch McConnell Says he Won’t Support Biden’s Pick for the Supreme Court if Breyer Retires

Yesterday Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell indicated that he would refuse to confirm a Supreme Court nominee picked by President Biden in election year 2024 if the GOP wins the Senate next year. McConnell previously blocked former President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court pick, Merrick Garland, eight months before the 2016 election but supported the appointment of former President Trump’s pick, Amy Coney Barrett, days before the 2020 election. McConnell also said he couldn’t guarantee that he would support a confirmation of a Biden nominee in 2023.

Also in the Supreme Court, several Democrats are urging justice Stephen Breyer to retire after the current court session. Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has joined at least one other leader who has publicly signaled that they want Breyer to retire so that President Biden can replace him with a younger member. Breyer has declined to talk about his retirement prospects but earlier this year in a speech, he warned  against proposals to expand the size of the Supreme Court.