Biden honors retiring Justice Breyer, commits to nominate Black woman to replace him on Supreme Court

President Joe Biden honored retiring Justice Stephen Breyer at the White House on Thursday.

President Joe Biden and Justice Stephen Breyer appeared together Thursday at the White House to announce Breyer's retirement from the Supreme Court, clearing the way for Biden to follow through on his campaign promise to nominate the first Black woman to the high court as his historic first pick.

"I'm here today to express the nation's gratitude to Justice Stephen Breyer for his remarkable career of public service, and his clear-eyed commitment to making our country's laws work for its people," Biden said.

Biden praised Breyer's career in public service, beginning in the United States Army as a teenager before going on to serve in all three branches of government before he turned 40. Multiple times, Biden noted his personal connection to Breyer, as the only president to have presided over a justice's confirmation -- when he was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Breyer was nominated to the Supreme Court in 1994 by President Bill Clinton.

"He has patiently sought common ground and built consensus, seeking to bring the court together. I think he's a model public servant in a time of great division in this country," Biden said, hailing Breyer for being a justice who could bridge divides on the bench.