Trump got three (!) Supreme Court picks in his single term in office; Biden will get at least one after news broke on Wednesday that Associate Justice Stephen Breyer will retire at the end of the current term (in late June/early July).
Breyer’s departure won’t change the composition of the 6-3 “conservative” court. It will give Democrats a seat that they can expect to hold for decades depending, of course, upon the age of the nominee.
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That’s the good news for Dems. The bad news: Breyer’s retirement could be a major short-term electoral complication for Democrats.
Think about it:
If Biden picks a hardcore Leftist? Gives Republican Senate midterm campaigns great talking points when it already appears trends are moving in the GOP’s direction.
If Biden picks someone who’s not crazy? The AOC/Bernie Sanders wing of the party will be even less enthusiastic about 2022 than they already appear to be.
Biden has a decent chance of getting his choice to replace Breyer. In so doing, he might never get another pick with a Democrat-controlled Senate. It’s a lose-lose for an embattled president who was already in political peril.
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