and president biden's possible replacement. >> madam president, last thursday associate justice steven breyer announced that after 27 years of service he will retire from the supreme court at the conclusion of this term. shortly after his nomination was first announced in 1994, then judge breyer publicly about what he expected his time on the high court would bring. he told reporters it was hoped to make the average person ordinary life better. unquote. nearly three decades later we can safely say judge breyer has met that mark and then some. throughout american history 115 individuals have sat on the nation's high court and ifud you have served as long and as effectively as judge breyer. from his opinion on voting rights, environmental protections, women's reproductive freedom and access to affordable healthcare, justice breyer's impact upon our nation will last for generations. america is more perfect union today because of a justice steven breyer. and of course judge byers legacy extends beyond even his remarkable time on the court. on the supreme court. a set of 13 years down the u.s. cou

>>> supreme court justice steven breyer expected to announce his retirement. what lies ahead and who can be a potential nominee to replace him. >>> marin county seeing a major difference in how it is handling the pandemic. where health restrictions are starting to ease. >>> a fiery crash shuts down richmond bridge for more than five hours. how chp says it went down. >>> a major change in our kpix5 weather department. mary breaks down the new approach and how it will impact you. good morning. it is thursday january 27. i am len kiese. >> i am amanda starrantino. let's get a check on weather and traffic beginning with first alert meteorologist mary lee. >>> good morning. we are so excited to launch our first alert weather, the new approach to really giving you are the weather, when and how to expect the impacting and changing weather conditions. for today we are looking at the big changes as it is not as foggy as yesterday morning. you will really notice that difference, cold temperatures down to the 30s and 40s as we a compared to yesterday at this time with th

old if confirmed she would be the youngest justice on the bench by about 5 years now, justice steven breyer is one of three remaining liberal justices,so this new appointment will not change the balance of the supreme court breyer has not formally announced his retitle, but that could be coming in just a matter of hours now, a source familiar with the matter has told nbc news that breyer is expected to meet with president biden at the white house today, and that's when we expect to hear more information. >> yeah. every step of this process playing a major part in shaping our nation down the road brie, thank you. >>> now to the growing crisis in ukraine. secretary of state antony blinken says the u.s. offered russia a, quote, serious diplomatic path forward but rejected russia's demand to ban ukraine from joining nato. this as russia ramps up its military drills on the border of ukraine. ali, the big question here is it just a matter of time before russia invades >> reporter: ell, as churchill once put it russia is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma tensions continue to simmer al

we'll be right back. >>> supreme court justice steven breyer expected to announce his retirement. what lies ahead and who can be a potential nominee to replace him. >>> marin county seeing a major difference in how it is handling the pandemic. where health restrictions are starting to ease. >>> a fiery crash shuts down richmond bridge for more than five hours. how chp says it went down. >>> a major change in our kpix5 weather department. mary breaks down the new approach and how it will impact you. good morning. it is thursday january 27. i am len kiese. >> i am amanda starrantino. let's get a check on weather

supreme court justice steven breyer is retiring this june. justice breyer a huge part of the bay area, grew up in san francisco, graduated from lowell high school and went to stanford. he is stepping down now after 37 years. he was appointed by president bill clinton. people who work with him say he's always been a consensus builder, always working to bridge divides with his fellow justices. he spoke to his younger brother, u.s. district court judge charles breyer. >> he wanted to make sure the senate and the president had enough time to confirm someone to take that seat effective at the end of the term in june. >> who could replace justice breyer? a few judges are being mentioned as front runners. one of them is right here in california. there's leandra kruger. she was born in l.a. area in pasadena. another possible replacement, u.s. circuit court judge ka tan ji brown jackson. she's currently at the court of appeals at the district of columbia and she also served as a law clerk to justice breyer. and vice president kamala harris. >> that's g

in the arm >> the search for the next member of the supreme court has officially begun justice steven breyer hand-delivered his retirement letter to president biden. and in making his announcement at the white house breyer reflected on the changes still facing our democracy, what he called the great american experiment >> it's our next generation, the one after that, my grandchildren and their children, they'll determine whether the experiment still works. and of course i'm an optimist and i'm pretty sure it will. >> meanwhile on capitol hill the senate is preparing for the confirmation battle. let's turn now to nbc's garret haake for an update on that process. >> reporter: senate democrats eager to begin the confirmation process. >> that means we're not going to sit around we're not going to sit on our hands and have been very expeditious to all the judicial nominees to the point where president biden nominees has had more confirmed judges at this point in his tenure than any other presidents >> reporter: so far each of president biden's 42 judicial nominees have received the unanimous supp

now, on thursday, the first -- for the first issue, justice steven breyer announced the end -- that he would have retired at the end of the supreme court term. with breyer leaving the ideological balance of the court will not change. but this does give president biden a chance to make history and energize the democratic base. as a candidate president biden pledged to nominate a black woman to the bench. the promise came with the strong urging of a key political ally of the president, south carolina democrat jim clyburn. >> one of the real yurnd current throughout the black -- undercurrent throughout the black community was no black woman had ever been seriously considered for the united states supreme court. yamiche: on thursday, president biden stood by his word. president biden: the person i will nominate will be someone with extraordinary qualifications, character, experience, and integrity. and that person will be the first black woman ever nominated to the united states supreme court. yamiche: joining me to discuss what comes next nancy cordes, chief white house correspondent for

now joe biden will make his mark on the high court with news that justice steven breyer plans to retire at the end of his term. he refuses to tell about his intentions, and it means president biden has to nominate someone on the court. it gives him an opportunity to fill that seat for decades to come and to make good on his promise. >> i'm going to make good and get a black supreme justice on that supreme court. no joke. no joke. >> they offered no specifics from justice breyer. among them, nominee johnson. she was confirmed with the support of all 50 democratic senators and three republicans, susan collins, lisa murkowski and lindsey graham. justice leonore kruger, associate justice of california supreme court, michelle childs, u.s. drikt judge south carolina, leslie abrams gardner and sherri lyn ifil of the naacp legal defense fund. we should be prepared for a fight. mitch mcconnell told hewitt last year that he would block a nominee if the senate gained control and a seat opened back up. >> if you were back as the senate republican leader, and i hope you are, and a democrat retires a

. >>> and we're going to get into the future of the supreme court and the legacy of steven breyer. so much of his story seems to hinge on a relic of the past, bipartisanship. >>> plus the conflict between russia and ukraine has america on the edge of its seat, but what's responsible for an apparent disconnect between the u.s. and ukraine? we're going to explain that and a whole lot more. i'm ayman mohyeldin. let's get started. >>> all right, so we are tracking major developments in the investigation into the plot by trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election. the january 6th committee issuing subpoenas this week to 14 of the so-called alternate electors who falsely claim trump won the election in their states. in a statement released yesterday chairman benny thompson says the committee wants to know how these individuals were brought together and who actually put them up to this scheme. here's how this plot was supposed to play out. on december 14, 2020, the legitimate electors around the country gathered to cast their votes for joe biden. now, at the same ti

. >>> we have an update on the retirement of supreme court justice steven breyer. ustice breyer had quote, fully made the decision on his own to step down at the end of his term and an announcement was imminent but someone jumped the gun a bit. justice bray you are was surprised the word had got out but already committed to his decision. >>> john desantis is fighting. the agency says it's highly unlikely the treatments will work against omicron which is causing 99% of the cases in the united states. the governor says it is too soon to be sure on that. dr. marc siegel is standing by. >> restore emergency use authorization for two of these treatments. you may remember this week, the fda pulled support because they were not effective in treating omicron. omicron the dominant strain of covid in the u.s. it argues other treatments would work better. but governor desantis says this decision was being made hastily and also amounting to a political attack from the biden administration. we heard from the governor last night. >> we had thousands of people in the queue at our

justice steven breyer set to retire after the current term. giving president biden a first crack at filling the seat on the high court. bret baier on what role this will play in the midterms. first to peter at the white house. >> we didn't hear any kind of a detail what comes next. the white house doesn't even want to say who, or which official works here who will be in charge of the search for replacement. president biden was asked briefly about this but he wanted his focus to be entirely on "build back better". >> every justice has the right and opportunity to decide what he or she is going to do and announce it on their own. there has been no announcement from justice breyer. let him make whatever statement he's going to make and i will be happy to talk antibiotic later. >> joe biden was there at the beginning almost 28 years ago when justice breyer was before the senate justice committee. and now joe biden is going to be in charge of picking a replacement. all we know about that, is that he's pledged to pick a black woman. we don't know wh

promise to nominate a black woman to fill the vacancy created by outgoing supreme court justice steven breyer. during a brief appearance at the white house, breyer spoke of his love for the country and its constitution. >> this is a complicated country. there are more than 330 million people, it's every race, every religion, and it's every point of view possible. it's a kind of miracle and you sit there and see all those people in front of you. people that are so different in what they think. and yet they've decided to help solve their major differences under law. >> the white house says vice president kamala harris will take a lead role in helping to choose a name to nominate to the high court. some point out harris, herself, is a very well-qualified legal mind and could sit on the bench, but most pundits say such a move would be very unlikely. others criticized the president for limiting himself, by saying he will only choose from a pool of black women, which sort of implies there are not a wealth of good candidates and there definitely clearly are. ronald reagan also promised to limit hims

la jubilaciÓn del juez steven breyer es la oportunidad perfecta para cumplir una promesa de campaÑa.a pregunta del dÍa. ¿quiÉnes serÍan entonces las nominadas para este reemplazo? aquÍ lo que debes saber cÓmo vamos a comenzar con la jueza jackson de 51 aÑos. trabajÓ para breyer desde 1993 hasta el 2000. el presidente biden la escogiÓ para reemplazar al fiscal en la decisiva corte de apelaciones para el distrito de columbia considerada la segunda corte mÁs poderosa del paÍs. vamos a pasar con otra cara visible. kruger, de 45 aÑos quien sirve en la corte suprema de california desde 2014. cerramos con la jueza tyles 25 aÑos quien desde 2010 en carolina del sur. carolina: un tema bastante importante para todo el paÍs. mientras tanto y cambiando de tema se aproxima una eventual bomba ciclÓnica al noroeste del paÍs con temperaturas congelantes. tambiÉn esperamos vientos huracanados. grandes acumulaciones de nieve y en el mar o las peligrosas. nos acompaÑa el jefe de meteorologÍa albert martÍnez para decirnos cuÁndo se espera. albert: este viernes en la noche, madrugada del sÁbado serÁ el m

yamiche: justice steven breyer announces his retirement. and president biden vows his replacement will make history. >> i'm going to give the president nominee whoever that may be a fair look. yamiche: setting the stage for a senate debate ahead of the midterms. plus -- >> we're acting with equal focus and force to bolster ukraine's defenses and prepare a swift united response to further russian aggression. miche: tensions over russia and ukraine intensify. next. announcer: this is "washington week." corporate funding is provided b-

this week steven breyer finally succumbed to pressure from democrats to announce he would be retiringurt the end of his current term. such a hurry to get rid of him his departure was announced for him by zealous officials. a date later the justices been on the court for almost 30 years was finally permitted the dignity of addressing the nation himself and gave parting thoughts on the future of the country. >> we have a country that is based on human rights, democracy and so forth. it is it experiment of the next generation and the one after that. my grandchildren and their children, they will determine whether the experiment still works and of course i am an optimist and i am pretty sure it will. >> a dignified exit the unceremonious weight democrats pelted out the door was a good's indication as neil get of how much trouble democrats know they are in an the elections were they know everything seemed to expect if they lose control the senate in november they can kiss goodbye to getting any court nominees through a republican controlled chamber. so leaning operator quit almost with the

steven g. breyer, this is an enormous change in the court in washington. pete williams broke the story exclusively on nbc news just now. pete, talk to us about the importance, significance of steve breyer stepping down and what you think is probably his thinking. >> as you know there was a discussion at the end of last term whether he was going to step down. it was clear he thought about it and decided not to do so. he said publicly at the time, he'd just written a book about the supreme court and why the countries follows supreme court decisions. he didn't want the timing of his retirement to be seen as something political. apparently he's decided that enough time has past that's not going to bow a concern now. there was enormous pressure on him and has been since president biden was elected, especially after the death of ruth bader ginsburg, which gave donald trump a chance to appoint amy coney barrett to the court. there was lots of pressure on breyer to step down, despite the fact he's in good health, so his successor could be chosen while there's stil

biggest story out of washington justice steven breyer is set to retire from the supreme court. >> bill: russia flexing military mussel yet again saying today that nato must back off in eastern europe. how much of a slow moving disaster could this be for the white house and more coming up. e with no down payment. and they're holding the line on purchase loans with rates in the twos. already own a home and need cash? with the newday100 loan, you can get up to $60,000 or more and lower your payments $615 a month. no bank, no lender, no one knows veterans like newdayusa. i brought in ensure max protein, with thirty grams of protein. those who tried me felt more energy in just two weeks! (sighs wearily) here i'll take that! (excited yell) woo-hoo! ensure max protein. with thirty grams of protein, one gram of sugar, and nutrients to support immune health. and it's easy to get a quote at libertymutual.com so you only pay for what you need. isn't that right limu? limu? sorry, one sec. doug blows a whistle. [a vulture squawks.] oh boy. only pay for what you need. ♪liberty, liberty, liberty, lib

justice steven breyer is retiring as expected.ancy pelosi wants even more spending but on china and ukraine. biden's deputy nsa, he says ukraine matters because, quote, borders should be respected. what about the collapse at the u.s. southern border? crime and drugs are pouring in. also former president trump, he is moving to capitalize on all of this. there is another rally this weekend in houston. and a new "pew research poll" shows biden approval rating plunging again on key issues that americans care about. thanks for joining us. with us tonight, congressman jason smith, claudia tenney, nicole malliotakis, plus the hill's joe concha. from johns hop skin as university, he is dr. marty makary. dr. hans von spakosky and ron vitiello. despite dr. fauci's downplaying, heating denials, dr. fauci on camera admitting, yes, he and the nih have been funding, touting dangerous supervirus research in laboratories even if a pandemic leaks out. dr. fauci says the benefits outweigh the risks of that. we have the video you cannot miss. new co

and we may learn whether steven breyer intends to retire.te house and senate. he's now the senior liberal. he will turn 84 in august and says the timing of his retirement will depend on his health. pete williams, nbc news, at the supreme court. >> most of the supreme court decisions expected to come by june, which could have a bearing on the midterm elections. joining me now, nyu professor, melissa murray. happy new year to you. you look back at some of the rulings from last year, including allowing arizona to enforce restrictive voting laws. i want you to talk about the picture of this court. there are a lot of people who saw this court for exactly what it was the day amy coney barrett was sworn in. a lot of people are catching up now. and then specifically, what we can expect as we look ahead to the bigger decision coming on abortion. >> well, i think it's important to set out, first, alicia, that the supreme court, unlike the other branches, doesn't really have the authority to enforce its own decisions. in order to make us comply, we rea

hour and 15 minutes now from the roosevelt room at the white house and he'll be joined by justice steven breyerat the time. this is a significant day for a lot of reason, not the least of which is that president biden will become the first president who ever presided over senate judiciary chair the confirmation hearings for a justice who he will now be picking a replacement for. >> thank you, we'll see you later to talk more about this. what happens next in the nomination process and what it means for democrats with the mid-term elections on the horizon? intelligent agencies say they see an increasing possibility of an incursion at the ukraine border. at the ukraine border uh, i-i'm actually just going to get an iced coffee. well, she may have a destination this one time, but usually -- no, i-i usually have a destination. yeah, but most of the time, her destination is freedom. nope, just the coffee shop. announcer: no matter why you ride, progressive has you covered with protection starting at $79 a year. voiceover: 'cause she's a biker... please don't follow me in. it's still the eat fresh ref

he happens to be the younger brother of judge steven breyer.getting up early. >> good morning. >> good morning. i know you've described your brother as an extreme pragmatist. that is his reputation on the court. what do you think led your brother to make this decision now? >> i think that he's been weighing it for about a year and i think that he took a number of factors into consideration. the fact first, he didn't want to die on the bench. he didn't think that was an appropriate exit. he felt the responsibility that the work that he has had continues and i think to some extent, to be honest, of course there are political considerations. i don't think it was politics that motivated him but i think that that was one of the considerations that he had in deciding now would be an appropriate time. when i say now, at the end of the term. when this term's work is completed. >> say more about that. when you say political considerations, like what? >> well, of course the obvious, which is he was appointed by a democrat, president clinton, and his succ

white house casting a wide net as president biden considers who to nominate to replace justice steven breyere supreme court. a source familiar with the discussions says several new names are emerging adding up to more than a dozen possible prospects but three are considered to be on the short list. the d.c. court of appeals judge brown jackson, justice kruger, and michelle childs, a federal judge on the district court in south carolina. her name, the only one officially confirmed by white house officials as being under consideration after they had to put a hearing on her nomination to the d.c. circuit on hold. childs drawing praise from fellow south carolinian lindsey graham. >> she is considered to be a fair-minded, highly gifted jurist. she is one of the most decent people i've ever met. it would be good to have someone not from harvard or yale. >> president biden saying he'll make his pick by the end of february. and senate democrats saying they'll expedite the process as soon as possible with some calling for a so-called amy coney barrett time line. her supreme court nomination came exac

and later, my political panel will discuss how supreme court justice steven breyer's retirement could impact mid-term races across the country. but first, my colleague with today's other top news stories. >> thank you. here are some of the stories we're watching this hour. severe winter weather on the east coast has left mounds of snow, flooded coastlines and many without power. massachusetts got hit the hardest. nearly 40 inches of snow. roughly 30,000 residents remain without electricity. >>> in florida, thousands are also without power as the state combs with unusually cold temperatures. spacex is expected to launch tonight. >>> covid cases in the united states have surpassed 74 million according to the nbc news tally. over 887,000 americans have died from the virus. and tensions. extra ships are going to eastern europe. russia has amassed tens of thousands of troops along the ukrainian border as fears of an invasion continue to rise. >>> more "politics nation" after the break. "politics nation" afr "politics nation" afr the break. wait! who else is known for nailing threes? hmm. c

supreme court to replace retiring justice steven breyer.watch first and back to tammy. >> i would welcome the appointment of a black female to the court. i believe that diversity benefits the supreme court. but the way that the president has handled this nomination has been clumsy at best. it adds to the further perception that the court is a political institution like congress when it is not supposed to be. >> harris: it adds to the perception that all black women are the same, be on the lookout for one. we'll fill this position for it. >> this is the other problem when you have a quota. this person will likely be very qualified and yet we're left with this impression that she was chosen for an a characteristic of herself because of her skin color and gender. so it once again creates an environment, this idea that women of color in particular, people of color in general that they've got to be blessed with the hand of the beneficial person who will lift them up to something that normally they wouldn't have and that is the only reason why th

. >> there's going to be a jung jon meacham who gets the opportunity to help steven breyer with his paymenti promise it would be a good career. >>> thank you both, and before that, my incredible team. thank you all. i want to transition to a member of the united states senate. he sets ben cardin, democrat from maryland. before i get to russia/ukraine, you have been in this town a long time. you obviously have some friendship with justice breyer, so, first, tell me your reaction to justice breyer and his legacy? >> well, todd, first, it's going to be with you. what a giant of a jurist on the court. as has already been pointed out, he's very talkative, in that he can have a great conversation on just about any subject. i will always cherish the time with him, where we had a chance to talk about everything -- except pending supreme court cases, just about everything else. he's a great legacy on the court. he'll be there until his successor is confirmed. we will miss his presence and his style. not only his substance, but the way he was able to operate on the supreme court. >> walk us through a

>>> so back state side, new reaction to president biden's vow to replace supreme court justice steven breyerso what are you hearing from lawmakers about the potential of biden support for the eventual nominee? >> reporter: well, alex, democrats have to decide where they want to play hard ball like republican does with amy coney barrett or if they want to get bipartisan support and do things to a timely but fish manner. when you look at this, it is important to look at the context surrounding it, right? under both president obama and president trump, their nominees faced bitter divisive fights when it came time for the nomination hearings. when you look at amy coney barrett, she made history not in the best of ways. being confirmed with only republican votes. democrats when you look at the mid-term elections coming up around the corner, they need to decide whether it is worth doing this in a bipartisan manner, getting some of the republican votes to support their future nominee. i want to you take a listen to what senator lindsey graham said today who both praised biden's potential future nom

. >> did a supreme court justice steven breyer announced his retirement.hest court in 1994. he passed the senate confirmation by vote of 87 -- nine. was sworn in as the 105th justice on the court on august 3 covid 1994. corrects american history tv saturdays on c-span2 exploring the people and events that tell the american story. at 2:00 p.m. eastern on the presidency, we look back on the scandal that led up to president richard nixon's resignation with geoff shepard who was at the time the youngest lawyer on president nixon's white house staff. also the author of the nixon conspiracy, watergate and the plot to remove the president. then at 8:00 p.m. eastern on lectures in history, suffolk university professor teaches a class on politics and culture in the united states. from 1800 to the 1830s. she describes in the country change during the period between the presidencies of thomas jefferson and andrew jackson. exploring the american story, watch american history tv saturday on cspan2 and find a full schedule on your program guide or watch online anytime a

. >>> and we're going to get into the future of the supreme court and the legacy of steven breyer.t, but what's responsible for an apparent disconnect between the u.s. and ukraine? we're going to explain that and a whole lot more. i'm ayman mohyeldin. let's get started. >>> all right, so we are tracking major developments in the investigation into the plot by trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election. the january 6th committee issuing subpoenas this week to 14 of the so-called alternate electorsho

this week when justice steven breyer announced that he would retire from the supreme court, he paved the way for president biden to name his replacement and fulfill a campaign promise. >> i've made no decision except one, the person i will nominate will be someone of extraordinary qualifications, characters, experience and integrity. and that person will be the first black woman ever nominated to the united states supreme court. it is long overdue in my view. >> that means we're one confirmation away from the supreme court looking a little more like america, we're one confirmation away where little black girls see a reflection of themselves among the black reasons of the high court. and the list of possible candidates is amazing. judge ketanji brown jackson. judge leondra kruger, youngest to appointed to the california supreme court. and south carolina district court judge j. michelle childs who enjoys the support of james clyburn, she is the only the white house has publicly confirmed is under consideration. georgia district court judge leslie abrams gardner reportedly made the list

steven justice breyer announcing his retirement on thursday to take place at the end of the current term83 old justice as a consensus builder and promising the process to replace him will be rigorous while reiterating his campaign commitment to appoint the first black woman to the bench. so how well breyer's

steven justice breyer announcing his retirement on thursday to take place at the end of the current term. given president biden a chance to put his mark on the high court. the president praising the 83 old justice as a consensus builder and promising the process to replace him will be rigorous while reiterating his campaign commitment to appoint the first black woman to the bench. so how well breyer's retirement change the course? and will his successor transform its liberal wing? he is the director of the robert a leavitt center for constitutional studies at the cato institute and author of the book supreme disorder judicial nominations and the politics of america's highest court. welcome good to see you. we do not know who will be the replacement yet. but tell us a little bit first about justice breyer's impact on the court. especially the court as it has moved in a more conservative direction. >> brian has got lost in the shuffle a lot he has not become cheap diva status with ginsburg or with instantly quotable dissents from a progressive perspective. he was a junior justice first fir

now on a final matter, last week justice steven breyer announced his plans to retire from the supreme court at the conclusion of this term. justice stephen breyer deserves our country's hard deacon graduate layingses. by the summer he will have dedicated 28 years on our highest court. during this time the justice has won respect and admiration from across the legal profession. one does not have to agree with the subassistance of justice breyer's legal philosophy or conclusions he has reached in many cases to appreciate the service he has rendered to the court and to our country. he is universally regarded as a careful and committed jurist. he is a top-shelf legal expert and intellectual heavyweight. in fact, justice breyer has published prolifically even beyond his caseload. over the decades, the justice has spent many hundreds of published pages transparently laying out his legal philosophy and thinking through scholarly questions in public view. most of all, i admire justice breyer's staunch defense of the institution of the supreme court itself in the face of increasingly reckless

we are also watching what's happening here in washington, d.c., supreme court justice steven breyer makingng retirement at the white house yesterday. breyer outlined to finish term and end 27-tenure. he urged president biden to appoint a black woman to replace justice breyer and floated a possible candidate. it's been reported previously that when biden was running for president back in 2020 he received clyburn's endorsement that he would appoint a black female to the court given a chance, maria. those are some of your headlines, we are watching a lot more earnings, back to you down in texas. maria: all right, cheryl, thank you so much. we have been closely covering this deadly fentanyl crisis at the southern border. in 2021 nearly 10,000 pounds of fentanyl was seized. that saw 40.8% year over year to 2020. here is texas governor greg abbott and what he told me yesterday about the fentanyl coming into this country. >> for the past year texas law enforcement has seized enough fentanyl to kill every man, woman and child in texas, california, new york, illinois combined and president biden do

announcement from justice breyer that he will make whatever statement he will make, and i will be happy to talk about it later. >> and, tonight, as rachel just told you, nbc news is steven alexander -- is reporting that justice breyer will appear with president biden tomorrow at the white house in a formal announcement from justin -- breyer's retirement. jen psaki repeated the commitment joe biden made in the south carolina presidential campaign debate. >> the president has stated and reiterated his commitment to nominating a black woman to the supreme court. and certainly, stance by that. >> some of the most unrealistic media speculation today including the absurd speculation of vice president kamala harris being nominated to the supreme court. now, you can ignore that speculation for many reasons, including the fact that a new vice president would then have to be confirmed by a vote of both the house and the senate in the process that would completely derail congress for several weeks at minimum. because the shortlist does not include any white men or white women or any other than black women, it is therefore easier to focus on the most likely candidates. and there is

breyer is stepping down. it gives president biden his first opportunity to shape the future of the court. here's nbc bay area's steven quintana with more. >> it's the right thing to do. it's a time in his life when, for a number of circumstances that he should step down. >> he says the timing was important. his brother's hope is that the business of the supreme court will not be interrupted by a delayed vacancy on the bench. >> he wanted to make sure that the senate and the president had enough time to confirm someone who could take that seat, effective at the end of the term, in june. >> his retirement avoids the scenario democrats faced when justice ruth bader ginsburg passed away, when a republican nominee swung the balance in favor of conservative. democratic senate leaders are already calling for a prompt confirmation once president biden announces his pick. during his run for the white house, the president made his thoughts on the nominee very clear. >> i've committed if i'm elect ed, i will appoint the first black woman to the court. it's require thad they have representation now. it's long overtu. >> belong t

breyer's form are clerk. >> leondra kruger clerked for form are justice john paul stevens.e was one of the justice department's top appeals court lawyers, arguing a a dz causes before the sport. also mentioned is j. michelle childs, she has the backing of a key biden supporter, congressman james clyburn, who praises her blue collar background. >> that will be a new perspective historically on the supreme court. there is a chance the new person will be more liberal because just breyer didn't always produce the most liberal results. >> reporter: breyer said he'll step down in late june or early july assuming his successor has been confirmed. that will end a 28-year career on the supreme court, putting him in the top 20. longest serving justices. he's been a modern to liberal judge on the supreme court. he remains part law pr ser, talking about the court's critical role in american life, displaying his pocket edition of the constitution, where he said keeping together such a wildly diverse country has been an parliament ever since the nation was founded. >> but it you and that

breyer law clerk. the other u.s. supreme court forul stevensargued a dozen cases here. but today is all about justice breyer with the formal announcement of his retirement at the white house and his plans to step down this summer, hoda. >> pete williams for us there at the supreme court. thank you. >>> now to our other major story, winter storm alerts posted along a lot of the east coast this morning a powerful nor'easter could create blizzard conditions this weekend in parts of new york and new england and that's coming on top of another day of frigid temperatures al has got the latest on when it all starts and who's likely to get it hi, al. >> all right, guys, we're watching these all important models, but already the winter storm watches for 33 million people from new england down into the carolinas we're looking at significant differences, the european model slower, stronger, closer to the coast with heavy snow, especially in new england, blizzard-like conditions the american model, faster, weaker and off the shore more easterly, and so tha

clerked, you talk about someone, you know, how brown jackson clerked for justice breyer, she clerked for justice john paul stevens, sterling resume and apparently according to colleagues, a very strong favorite for a supreme court seat if biden holds on to his campaign promise of nominating a black woman. do you know anything about her, and is the california supreme court, any state supreme court as big a stepping stone to the supreme court as an appellate court, appeals court, one of the district courts, andy? >> trace, it doesn't happen as often but that's a stellar credential, and what i know about that particular judge is pretty much the resume you just outlined, which is a sterling resume, and it has the advantage of i think she's about six years or so younger than judge jackson. so one of the things that is a consideration here is if you can get a judge of your liking on to the supreme court, the younger the better as far as they are concerned, right. because you know, she could be on for a very long time. >> i just, if i can, sandra, quickly, what andy was saying there, the last time it happened, the last

studies chair steven heydemann watch book tv every sunday on c-span 2 and find a full schedule on your program guide or watch online anytime at book tv.org. this past week justice stephen breyer announced his plans to retire from the supreme court appointed by president clinton in 1994. his departure will provide president biden with his first supreme court nomination. here's a portion of his swearing in ceremony. i mean every judge is particular obligation is to deal fairly and thoroughly with the legal problems of the individual parties before the court whether they are poor or rich or helpless or powerful minority or majority. to me. i think the most significant thing about a court is that a court is not a bureaucracy and a judge is not a bureaucrat. the court focuses and the judge focus on individuals and a focus on individuals is so important i think indispensable in today's world. so that when every other door is closed. the door of the core will still be open. i think too observers who are in this country or sometimes amazed by the willingness of americans to ask courts to decide matters of law that really sometimes involve the most contentious issues. you can think of

steven briar handing a coveted opening to president biden tonight. >> i'm here to -- >> nearly 30 years after biden provided over his confirmation hearing, the president announced breyerire at the end of this serve. >> you would never think that he served decades on the court and would you be president of the united states in the day he came in to retire. >> reporter: breyer talking about endurance of the american spirit. >> when i'm talking to the students, i want you to pick justice up. it is an experiment that is still going on. and i'll tell you something, you know who will see whether that experiment works. it is you, my friend. >> reporter: biden is promise to make history he said it long overdue. >> i've made no decision except one. the person i will nominate will be someone with extraordinary qualifications, character, experience and integrity. and that person will be the first black woman ever nominated to the united states supreme court. >> the president planning to name the nominee in the coming week. >> it is my intention to announce my decision before the end of february. i have made no choices at this point. >> reporter: there is a search already underwa

breyer, she clerked for him early in her career. >> also, a closer second look at supreme -- california supreme court justice leondra kruger. kruger clerb edclerked for john stevens and acted in the obama administration. >> i think we tend to forget when we're in the outside world that really conversations about these very difficult cases are confined to a very small number of people. >> but a key endorsement could shift the focus to district court judge j. michelle childs of south carolina. congressman jim clyburn, critical in helping deliver the battleground state to biden in 2020, has endorsed childs. just last month, biden nominated childs to the u.s. court of appeals for the district of columbia circuit. the nomination does remain pending. >> i have a high regard and sincere appreciation for our legal system, which is the form of order in our court, in our democracy. >> other names floated include anita earls, associate justice of the supreme court of north carolina. judge mimi wright, who sits on minnesota's federal district court. judge eunice lee is a former new york public defender who biden nominated to the second circuit. judge candace jackson-akiwumi

stevens. good to see you this morning. thank you for joining us. >> nice to see you. thanks for having me. >> could you tell us, to start with, what is the math on this? justice breyer retiring, being replaced by a judge, a justice who is appointed by a democratic president, does not effect the balance on the court. so to your mind, what is the biggest deal here? >> yeah, first of all, let me just say that everyone goes trait to the math, the politics and you're thinking about how will this change the court and that is i think a sensible bottom line but i just want to say a word about breyer and what we lose with breyer, right. this is a justice who is supremely committed to democracy, to an idea of a functioning government. he has written opinions and sometimes dissents that are really powerful on the basis of individual rights and racial equity. so this is who we're losing. so it is important and i really significant that he's stepping down, because it really clears the way for new voices on the court, which is important and we will undoubtedly see someone younger. we may see someone who is a woman. we may see a woman of color, we may see a black woman. and there

breyer because as senator said, he has the ability to bring people together. he is one of the most remarkable justices i've known and i voted on every single justice since john paul stevens. and he is a remarkable, remarkable juris. >> and a true man of the enlightenment in an age -- linda greenhouse wrote today, which is not an enlightenment age. >> my wife and i like speaking french with him. >> he's such a frank-o-file. i know. taught himself french during lecture breaks in france. always great to have the amaritous chair of judiciary and one of the current newer vibrant members, what a combination. thank you both so very much coming together today. >>> when the president and justice breyer appear at the white house, we'll bring you all their remarks live. and on alert. >>> president biden set to speak directly to the ukrainian >>> president biden set to speak directly to th president as we see a massive escalation in troop deployments. this is msnbc. e escalationn itroop deployments. this is msnbc. i don't know. i think they look good, man. mm, smooth. uh, they are a little tight. like, too tight? might just need to break 'em in a little bit. you don't want 'em too l

steven in lake oswego, oregon, independent. caller: good morning. my question is has the court ever been this politicized. it seems justice breyering down very specifically because biden is president, and he wants the democratic president to replace him. and that in itself is an indication that things have just gone too far. has this been this way in the history? guest: i think in terms of the idea of stepping down so that a president of the same party that nominated you can replace you, that's not a new idea. i mean, justice antonin scalia, justice ruth bader ginsburg both passed away while they were on the bench, but that certainly what justice anthony kennedy, justice and is a day oh con, no, justice david suter, not john paul stevens, because he was appointed by a republican, but what several of the other previous justices who stepped down also were trying to do. in terms of the other part of your question about the court being sort of politicized or divided, i do think, i'm want a supreme court historian, but i do think that the court does seem to be divided. they're hearing a lot of politically contentious cases right now.

steven in lake oswego, oregon, independent. caller: good morning. my question is has the court ever been this politicized. it seems justice breyertepping down very specifically because biden is president, and he wants the democratic president to replace him. and that in itself is an indication that things have just gone too far. has this been this way in the history? guest: i think in terms of the idea of stepping down so that a president of the same party that nominated you can replace you, that's not a new idea. i mean, justice antonin scalia, justice ruth bader ginsburg both passed away while they were on the bench, but that certainly what justice anthony kennedy, justice and is a day oh con, no, justice david suter, not john paul stevens, because he was appointed by a republican, but what several of the other previous justices who stepped down also were trying to do. in terms of the other part of your question about the court being sort of politicized or divided, i do think, i'm want a supreme court historian, but i do think that the court does seem to be divided. they're hearing a lot of politically contentious cases right