Stephen Breyer reportedly wasn't too happy his retirement news leaked today


News that Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer would retire sent shockwaves through the political world on Wednesday — earlier, evidently, than Breyer had hoped.
Multiple outlets reported Wednesday that Breyer planned to announce his retirement, major news that signaled President Biden would be able to put forward his first nominee to the Supreme Court. But hours after the news was widely reported, Breyer had still not confirmed it. Fox News legal correspondent Shannon Bream reports that Breyer's announcement "wasn't planned for today" and he was surprised and unhappy the news was revealed early.
"Justice Breyer was not planning to announce his retirement today," Bream reported on Fox News, adding, "I'm told that he is 'upset,' that the way that this is being handled was not the timeline that he had planned."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Bream went on to say that Breyer reportedly "felt this was pushed before he was ready to make it official." She later followed up on Twitter to clarify that Breyer did decide "on his own to retire" and that it would be "better to characterize him as surprised by events today than 'upset'" after someone "jumped the gun" on the announcement.
Breyer is planning to stay on at the Supreme Court until the end of its term, NBC News reported, and CNN reports the formal announcement is now expected on Thursday. Asked for comment on the news, Biden declined to weigh in until it was official. "Every justice has the right and opportunity to decide what he or she is going to do and announce it on their own," Biden said. "There has been no announcement from Justice Breyer. Let him make whatever statement he's going to make, and I'll be happy to talk about it later."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
How military service works for K-pop idols
Under The Radar All seven members of K-pop sensation BTS have now completed mandatory national service
-
The Week contest: Flight fraud
Puzzles and Quizzes
-
Is Trump sidelining Congress' war powers?
Today's Big Question The Iran attack renews a long-running debate
-
Iran nukes program set back months, early intel suggests
Speed Read A Pentagon assessment says US bombing of Iranian nuclear sites only set the program back by months, not years. This contradicts President Donald Trump's claim.
-
Trump says Iran and Israel agreed to ceasefire
Speed Read This followed a night of Israeli airstrikes on Tehran and multiple waves of missiles fired by Iran
-
Israel strikes Iran, killing military and nuclear chiefs
Speed Read Israeli officials said the attack was a 'preemptive' strike on Iran's nuclear program
-
Israel deports Thunberg after seizing Gaza aid boat
speed read The Swedish activist was delivering food and medical aid to Palestine, highlighting the growing humanitarian crisis there
-
Colombian senator shot on streets of Bogotá
speed read Miguel Uribe Turbay, who has announced his candidacy for next year's presidential election, was shot at a rally
-
Trump says Putin vowed retaliation for Kyiv strike
speed read The Russian president intends to respond to Ukraine's weekend drone strikes on Moscow's warplanes
-
Dutch government falls over immigration policy
speed read The government collapsed after anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders quit the right-wing coalition
-
South Korea elects liberal Lee as president
speed read Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, was elected president following months of political instability in the wake of Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment