January 26, 2022 09:37 AM UTC

BREAKING: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer To Retire

•  
• by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE #2: Brief statements from Colorado’s U.S. Senators betray little, though both are of course expected to support President Joe Biden’s nominee. Senator Michael Bennet:

“Justice Breyer has served with integrity and distinction for nearly three decades, protecting Americans’ civil rights, upholding the rule of law, and defending the vital independence of the judiciary. We should be profoundly grateful for his service, and I am.”

And Senator John Hickenlooper:

Thank you Justice Breyer for your decades of service.

The Senate should fill this vacancy as quickly as possible, and I look forward to reviewing the record, background, and legal philosophy of whoever @POTUS nominates.

— Senator John Hickenlooper (@SenatorHick) January 26, 2022

—–

UPDATE: Still waiting for reactions, which suggests to us that outgoing Justice Stephen Breyer caught Washington off guard with his announcement today. In the meantime,

With Breyer stepping down, here are your names:

Ketanji Brown Jackson: D.C. Circuit
Leondra Kruger: California Supreme Court
Michelle Childs: South Carolina District Court

— Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) January 26, 2022

—–

Big news breaking now via NBC News’ Josh Lederman:

NEWS: Supreme Court Justice Breyer to retire, @PeteWilliamsNBC reporting live on @NBCNews Special Report

— Josh Lederman (@JoshNBCNews) January 26, 2022

Have fun trying to talk about anything else today. We’ll update with Colorado reax, etc. shortly.