During Wednesday’s press conference, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki refused to answer if Democrat President Joe Biden was considering nominating Vice President Kamala Harris to be on the Supreme Court after news that Justice Stephen Breyer intends to retire after this term.
“Is there any scenario in which the president would select his Vice President Kamala Harris for the Supreme Court?” A reporter asked.
“I’m not going to speak to any considerations, preparations, lists,” Psaki answered. “And as we’ve stated earlier, and you heard the president say, it is, there’s a long history of Supreme Court justices determining when they may retire, if they retire, and announcing that, and we’re going to — that remains the case today.”
Another reporter later asked Psaki again about whether Biden was considering Harris for the vacancy.
“When you were asked about the vice president possibly being selected as a Supreme Court nominee, you said you’re not going to speak to any considerations,” the reporter said. “Does that mean she is being considered?”
“Again, Peter, I’m not going to speak to the reports of a Supreme Court justice retirement that hasn’t been announced,” Psaki responded.
“Just wondering, hypothetically, theoretically, would someone who was an attorney general of a large state and who served with many key Senate votes, be an attractive candidate to the president for an open Supreme Court seat?” the reporter asked.
“I see what you did there, Peter, but the president has every intention, as he said before, of running for re-election and for running for re-election with Vice President Harris on the ticket as his partner,” Psaki said. “But again, I will just reiterate that I have nothing more to offer in terms of specifics or information on the reports this morning.”
Peter Doocy grills Psaki on whether Kamala is being considered as a Supreme Court nominee:
"The President has every intention … of running for re-election, and for running for re-election with Vice President Harris on the ticket as his partner." pic.twitter.com/ogljcLiJ01
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) January 26, 2022
The news that Justice Breyer plans to retire leaked Wednesday, sooner than Breyer had intended which reportedly upset him.
“Justice Breyer was not planning to announce his retirement today,” Fox News legal correspondent Shannon Bream reported, adding, “I’m told that he is ‘upset,’ that the way that this is being handled was not the timeline that he had planned.”
According to CNN, “Breyer, 83, is expected to stay on until the end of the court term and until a replacement is confirmed, a well-placed source familiar with the matter told CNN.”
“He informed Biden of his plans last week and will formally announce his retirement at a White House event with the President as early as Thursday, two sources told CNN,” the outlet added. “Although Biden’s pick will not change the balance of the court, given that Breyer will almost certainly be replaced with a fellow liberal, the new nominee is expected to be much younger and could serve on the court for decades. The court currently has six conservative justices appointed by Republican presidents, and three liberals appointed by Democrats.”
