President Biden is slated to deliver remarks on Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement on Thursday afternoon, the White House announced.
Breyer is expected to attend the event, according to updated daily guidance issued Thursday morning. The event will take place at 12:30 p.m. in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. CNN first reported the plans on Wednesday evening.
News of Breyer’s retirement broke on Wednesday but the White House declined to comment directly on it until Breyer makes a formal announcement. That means that Biden’s speech Thursday afternoon will represent his first substantial remarks on Breyer’s plans.
Breyer’s decision to retire is a consequential development for Biden in his first year as president, offering him the opportunity to nominate a liberal replacement to the high court.
Biden had pledged during his presidential campaign to nominate the first Black woman to the Supreme Court if a vacancy arose, a commitment that White House press secretary Jen Psaki said he stood by on Wednesday.
It’s unclear how much Biden may talk about the nomination process when he speaks on Thursday about Breyer’s retirement.
There are already several names of potential nominees circulating, including D.C. appeals court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger, and the South Carolina federal district court’s Judge J. Michelle Childs.
Biden is likely to reflect on Breyer’s tenure on the Supreme Court. Biden was chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1994 and presided over Breyer’s confirmation process.
Breyer is expected to retire after the conclusion of the current term in the summer. The White House can move forward with the nomination process before Breyer retires.
–Updated at 11:49 a.m.