WASHINGTON (CN) — Justice Stephen Breyer sent a letter to the White House on Wednesday announcing his retirement from the Supreme Court will be effective Thursday at noon.
“It has been my great honor to participate as a judge in the effort to maintain our Constitution and the Rule of Law,” the 83-year-old justice wrote.
Breyer was appointed to the court in 1994 by President Bill Clinton and is the court’s oldest member. After announcing his intention to retire in January, Breyer said it was a miracle that so many different people could be brought together to solve their differences under the law.
“People have come to accept this Constitution, and they’ve come to accept the importance of a rule of law,” Breyer said during remarks at the White House.
As one of only three liberal justices on the court, Breyer has ended his tenure in opposition to some of the court’s biggest rulings of the term. Last week, Breyer joined a co-dissent to the conservative majority’s blockbuster ruling overturning Roe v. Wade. He also wrote a dissent to a ruling that expands the Second Amendment by recognizing the right to carry a handgun in public.
Breyer’s letter indicates that Ketanji Brown Jackson is ready to begin service as the 116th member of the court. Jackson — who previously clerked for Breyer — will be the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court. On Wednesday afternoon, the Supreme Court announced that Jackson would be sworn in immediately after Breyer's retirement takes effect. Chief Justice John Roberts will administer the Constitutional Oath, the court said, and Breyer will administer the Judicial Oath in a ceremony in the West Conference Room. At a later date, the court will hold a special sitting for Jackson's formal investiture ceremony.
The end of Breyer’s 28-year tenure will coincide with the release of the high court’s final rulings of the term.
Prior to his departure, the court will rule on a challenge to the Environmental Protection Agency's authority to regulate climate change. The case was brought by Republican-led states and coal companies that think the EPA overstepped its authority with regulations it used previously.
The fate of a Trump-era immigration policy will also be decided tomorrow. Republican-led states challenged President Joe Biden’s authority to throw out a controversial policy known as Remain in Mexico that forced asylum seekers to wait on the other side of the border while their claims are processed.
Follow @KelseyReichmann
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