On the recordFebruary 9, 2022
article II, section 2, clause 2 of the Constitution provides that the President ``shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint . . . judges of the Supreme Court.'' One of the most important constitutional responsibilities I have as a Senator is to provide advice and consent on a President's Supreme Court nominee. A new Justice is someone who could serve for a generation or more and have a profound impact on the lives of all Americans for decades to come. Recently, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer announced that he would step down once the Senate confirms his successor. In his remarks, while reflecting on what he learned during his nearly three decades on the High Court, he said: This is a complicated country. There are more than 330 million people, and my mother used to say it's every race, it's every religion--and she would emphasize this--and it's every point of view possible. Justice Breyer has built a reputation and cemented a legacy as a champion of civil rights and fought to protect American consumers and our very democratic system of government from the attempts to undermine our campaign finance system and weaken the sacred franchise of the right to vote. His thoughtful scholarship on the importance of safeguarding human rights and respecting international law will continue to influence democratic governments around the world for years to come.…