Klobuchar: If Breyer is going to retire from Supreme Court, it should be sooner rather than later

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) on Sunday said that if Justice Breyer decides to retire from the Supreme Court, he should do so “sooner rather than later.”

“He makes his own decision about if he’s going to retire, 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,” Klobuchar told host Dana Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Klobuchar said she was “not going to speculate on his retirement” but did say the liberal justice “has to be concerned about the makeup” of the court, which currently stands at a 6-3 conservative majority.

She said Democrats have to keep an eye on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) when discussing Breyer’s potential retirement and President Biden’s chances of landing a justice on the bench, accusing the Republican of “manipulation.”

“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. So that would lead me to say sooner rather than later,” she said.

Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar refuses to speculate on Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement, but says, “If he’s going to retire, it should be sooner rather than later” #CNNSOTU https://t.co/eVcA0pf4Fq pic.twitter.com/5lmQ6ziJul

— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) July 18, 2021

Breyer told CNN in an interview published last week that he has not yet decided when he will retire.

He did, however, reveal two circumstances that would contribute to any decision to leave the bench.

“Primarily, of course, health,” Breyer said. “Second, the court.”

Concerns regarding the 83-year-old justice’s retirement have swarmed throughout the Democratic Party, with some lawmakers urging him to retire to allow for enough time for Biden to install a liberal replacement on the bench.

New York Democratic Rep. Mondaire Jones in April called on Breyer to retire while Biden is still in office.