Politics

Amy Klobuchar: Breyer ‘Makes His Own Decision,’ But If He’s Concerned About The Court He Should Retire ‘Sooner Rather Than Later’

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Virginia Kruta Associate Editor
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Democratic Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar suggested Sunday that if he were “concerned” about the Supreme Court, Justice Stephen Breyer would retire “sooner rather than later.”

During an appearance on “State of the Union,” Klobuchar told CNN anchor Dana Bash that she would not presume to tell Breyer what he should do, but then argued that she believed retiring sooner might be in the best interest of the court. (RELATED: ‘Take This Crap Off Their Platforms’: Amy Klobuchar Says Social Media Companies Should Be Liable For Misinformation)

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Bash began by noting that Breyer had so far declined to announce his retirement despite calls from the left for him to do so while President Joe Biden would be guaranteed to choose his replacement.

“So is Justice Breyer making a mistake by not retiring?” Bash asked Klobuchar.

“I’m not going to speculate on his retirement,” Klobuchar replied, pointing out that Breyer was basing his decision on two things: his health and the court.

“When you look at the court, he has to be concerned about the makeup. And you have to be concerned about how you get a justice on the court with all of the manipulation that Mitch McConnell has engaged in,” Klobuchar continued.

She concluded by suggesting that if Breyer were truly concerned about the makeup of the court, he should consider retiring while Democrats held even tenuous control of the Senate and Biden was in the White House.

“So, that would lead me to say, sooner rather than later. He makes his own decision about if he’s going to retire,” Klobuchar said. “But if he’s going to retire, it should be sooner rather than later if you are concerned about the court. Because what happens in the U.S. Senate matters.”

Democrats have also suggested adding justices to the court in order to impact the balance between liberal and conservative justices — and Breyer has voiced opposition to that as well.