Photo: Susan Walsh-Pool/Getty Images
Sen. Dick Durbin, who will play a key role in confirming PresidentJoe Biden’snominee for the Supreme Court, says the process will be “fair,” “deliberate” and “timely,” but admitted that age should be a consideration when making a lifetime appointment.
After JusticeStephen Breyer announced his retirementlast week, Bidenreiterated his campaign promise to pick a Black womanto replace him on the bench and said he would consider the advice of senators from both parties as he makes his decision in the coming weeks.
Durbin, a Democrat who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, offered a partial look at his own thinking and how he might advise Biden as the president and his advisors vet candidates.
Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer.Andrew Harnik/AP/Shutterstock
While younger candidates can face scrutiny for a relative lack of experience — when compared to an older, more experienced one — presidents of both parties have typically preferred jurists in their 40s or 50s.
The privilege of placing a new justice on the high court means a president’s influence there can last for decades after he or she has left the White House.
Former PresidentDonald Trumpmade three Supreme Court appointments in the four years he was in office. JusticeNeil Gorsuchwas 49 when he took the oath in 2017; JusticeBrett Kavanaughwas 53; JusticeAmy Coney Barrettwas 48.
Justice Clarence Thomas was 43 when President George H. W. Bush nominated him in 1991. Now, 30 years later, Thomas is 73 and will be the oldest member of the court after Breyer, 83, leaves at the end of the term.
Supreme Court justices.Erin Schaff-Pool/Getty
The oldest person to ever serve on the Supreme Court was Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., who retired in 1943 at 90 after serving nearly 30 years.
Durbin also addressed timing after Biden said last week he will make a decision before the end of February and that his expectation is for the Democratic-led Senate to “move promptly” in confirming his nominee (almost certainly before the November midterms).
“We’re going to be timely about it,” Durbin said. “This is a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land. We should take it seriously.”
source: people.com
