Biden Announces “First Black Woman Ever” for Supreme Court as Breyer Retires; Stefanik Says Biden Took Country Back to the 1970s

On 1/27/2022, President Biden stood alongside retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer and announced he would fulfill his campaign promise to nominate “the first Black woman ever nominated to the United States Supreme Court.” Biden called the day “bittersweet,” reflecting on his decades-long relationship with Breyer, and said he would announce his choice before the end of February. House Conference Chair Elise Stefanik responded that Biden had taken the country on “a road trip to the 1970s” with inflation and declining paychecks.

”The First Black Woman Ever”

Biden wasted no time affirming his campaign commitment. “That person will be the first Black woman ever nominated to the United States Supreme Court,” Biden said. “It’s long overdue in my view. I made that commitment during the campaign for president, and I will keep that commitment.”

He said he would announce his decision “before the end of February” and noted he had “made no choice at this point.”

Biden highlighted Vice President Kamala Harris’s involvement in the process. “It’s my intention to have advised me in the selection process — Vice President Kamala Harris. She’s an exceptional lawyer, former Attorney General of the State of California, a former member of the Senate Judiciary Committee,” Biden said.

”A Sort of Bittersweet Day”

Biden reflected on his long history with Breyer. “Justice Breyer and I go back a long way, all the way back to the mid-70s,” Biden said. “It was my honor to vote to confirm Justice Breyer to serve in the United States Supreme Court — the Court of Appeals first, in 1980. And then 14 years later, in 1994, I got to preside as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee over his Supreme Court confirmation hearings.”

“We were joking with one another when he walked in — we ever think that he would have served decades on the court and I’d be President of the United States the day he came in to retire?” Biden said.

Biden invited Breyer and his wife to stay in the Lincoln bedroom. “The Lincoln bedroom has against the wall a handwritten copy of the Gettysburg Address written by Lincoln in that bedroom,” Biden said.

Breyer’s Farewell

Justice Breyer delivered emotional remarks reflecting on the Constitution as an ongoing experiment. He quoted Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address: “We are now engaged in a great civil war to determine whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure.”

“I found some letters that George Washington wrote where he said the same thing — it’s an experiment,” Breyer said. “Even the liberals in Europe were looking over here and saying, ‘Great idea in principle, but it’ll never work.’ But we’ll show them it does. That’s what Washington thought. That’s what Lincoln thought. And that’s what people still think today.”

Addressing students, Breyer said: “I want you to pick this up. It’s an experiment that’s still going on.”

He described what he found remarkable about the Court. “It’s a kind of miracle when you sit there and see all those people in front of you, people that are so different in what they think. And yet they’ve decided to help solve their major differences under law,” Breyer said. “When the students get too cynical, I say, go look at what happens in countries that don’t do that.”

Stefanik: “A Road Trip to the 1970s”

Conference Chair Elise Stefanik offered the Republican response. “Our paychecks and our presidential promises are worth less now than ever before,” Stefanik said. “President Biden and Nancy Pelosi have taken our country on a road trip to the 1970s — before you were born. And nobody’s having a good time. In fact, I think sometimes Joe Biden thinks it’s 1970.”

No Questions Allowed

Biden declined to take questions at the event. “I’m not going to take any questions because I think it’s inappropriate to take questions with the justice here. He’s still sitting on the bench,” Biden said. “But you’ll have plenty of opportunities to get me later today and for the rest of the week — next week, too.”

Key Takeaways

Biden confirmed he would nominate “the first Black woman ever” to the Supreme Court before the end of February, fulfilling a campaign pledge.
He called Breyer’s retirement “bittersweet” and reflected on a relationship going back to the mid-1970s.
Breyer delivered emotional remarks calling the Constitution “an experiment that’s still going on” and praising the American tradition of resolving differences under law.
Stefanik responded that Biden’s policies had taken the country “on a road trip to the 1970s” with declining purchasing power.
Biden refused to take questions at the event, saying it was “inappropriate” with Breyer present.

Transcript Highlights

The following is transcribed from the video audio (unverified — AI-generated from audio).

That person will be the first Black woman ever nominated to the United States Supreme Court. It’s long overdue. I made that commitment during the campaign, and I will keep that commitment.
This is sort of a bittersweet day for me. Justice Breyer and I go back a long way, all the way back to the mid-70s.
It’s an experiment. That’s what Washington thought. That’s what Lincoln thought. I want you to pick this up. It’s an experiment that’s still going on.
Our paychecks and our presidential promises are worth less now than ever before. Biden and Pelosi have taken our country on a road trip to the 1970s.
I’m not going to take any questions because I think it’s inappropriate with the justice here.

Full transcript: 692 words transcribed via Whisper AI.