(ABC ¾ÅÓÎÌåÓý) -- Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer said he will officially step down from the bench at noon on Thursday, relinquishing his duty as a justice and clearing the way for the swearing in of the nation's first Black female justice,Ìý
"It has been my great honor to participate as a judge in the effort to maintain our Constitution and the Rule of Law," Breyer wrote in a letter to President Joe Biden, dated Wednesday.
Breyer's retirement fulfills the wish of Democrats who lobbied for his exit to make way for Biden's first high court appointment.
Last term, Breyer authored major opinions upholding the Affordable Care Act, affirming free speech rights of students off-campus and resolving a multi-billion dollar copyright dispute between two titans of American technology, Google and Oracle.
"He has been operating at the peak of his powers," said Jeffrey Rosen, law professor and president of the National Constitution Center. "It was so inspiring that this term his pragmatic vision of compromise and moderation were ascendant and all of the unanimous decisions were a moving tribute to his inspiring legacy."
Stepping down early in the Biden presidency and while Democrats retain a razor-thin majority in the U.S. Senate helped to ensure his seat was filled with someone who shares his judicial philosophy.
Ketanji Brown Jackson to fill Breyer's seat
Jackson, 51, who currently sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, will fill Justice Breyer's seat, and become the first Black woman to sit on the nation's highest court. With Jackson's ascension to the bench, for the first time, white men will not represent the majority on the Supreme Court.
When President Joe Biden formally announced Jackson's nomination earlier this year, he fulfilled a promise made on the 2020 presidential campaign ahead of the South Carolina primary when he relied heavily on support from the state's Black voters.
"For too long our government, our courts haven't looked like America," Biden said on Feb. 25. "And I believe it is time that we have a court that reflects the full talents and greatness of our nation with a nominee of extraordinary qualifications."
Jackson served as a clerk for Breyer from 1999 to 2000 and called it "extremely humbling to be considered" for his seat.
"I know that I could never fill his shoes, but if confirmed, I would hope to carry on his spirit," she said.
Three Republicans -- Sens. Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Mitt Romney -- joined Senate Democrats in voting to confirm Jackson in April, marking a solid, bipartisan win for the Biden White House.
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