Justice Stephen Breyer is retiring from the Supreme Court, reports say

NBC News and CNN are reporting that Associate Justice Stephen Breyer is retiring from the Supreme Court.

The retirement of the 83-year-old liberal-leaning justice clears the way for President Joe Biden to appoint a successor and comes amid mounting pressure from progressives to have him leave while the Senate is still under Democratic control. Biden promised to nominate the first black woman to the Supreme Court.

The oldest member of the court is a Californian named Stephen Breyer, who has been on the bench for 27 years.

Shortly after news of his retirement broke, White House press secretary Jen Psaki put out a statement.

It has always been the decision of any Supreme Court Justice if and when they decide to retire, and how they want to announce it, and that remains the case today.

According to CNN, the Supreme Court will be announcing the retirement of Justice Stephen Breyer as early as Thursday and that he won't step down until the Senate confirms a new justice.

Since Biden took office, progressives have called on the president to choose a replacement for Breyer so that Republicans don't expand their majority on the court.

McConnell suggested last year that he would block a potential Biden nominee to the Supreme Court if Republicans regained control of the upper chamber after the upcoming elections.

He remained quiet about his retirement plans. He told an audience at Harvard Law School that jurists are loyal to the rule of law, not to the political party that helped to secure their appointment.

When asked during a virtual event in May hosted by Philadelphia's National Constitution Center what he has learned from his nearly three-decade tenure on the court, Breyer said he realized he had less power to persuade people than he thought.

The most senior member of the court's liberal wing during last year's term was Stephen Breyer. He wrote the majority opinions for influential cases, including one that upheld the Affordable Care Act and another that sided with a former high school cheerleader.

There is a developing story. You can check back for updates.