Appearing with President Joe Biden at the White House Thursday, Justice Stephen Breyer announced his retirement from the Supreme Court after 27 years on the bench.
Its oldest serving member, Justice Breyer extolled the virtues of diversity in America, and hailed the importance of the rule of law - saying American democracy was an experiment that's still underway.
"It's that next generation, the one after that, my grandchildren and their children. They'll determine whether the experiment still works. And of course, I am an optimist and I'm pretty sure it will."
President Biden - who chaired the Judiciary Committee in 1994 during Breyer's confirmation -- described Breyer a "beacon of wisdom" and something of a rare breed in Washington: a consensus builder.
"And he has patiently sought common ground and built consensus seeking to bring a court together. I think he's a model public servant in a time of great division in this country."
The 83-year-old Justice says he plans to depart at the conclusion of the Supreme Court's current term, typically at the end of June, assuming his successor has been confirmed by the Senate.
As for who will succeed him, Biden was clear that he would keep his campaign promise.
"I've made no decision except one 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. It's long overdue."
Among the top contenders to be Biden's nominee: Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, and California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger.
Biden said he would announce his pick by the end of February.
Whoever Biden nominates, she will not change the court's ideological balance with its solidly conservative 6-3 majority.
