so, again, to repeat, as we begin this noon hour, justice stephen breyer has decided and set to notify the white house of his intention. sent a letter, as would be expected, to the white house and then general counsel and then chief of staff. someone he knows very well from having worked in the senate, justice breyer, before he was a federal judge in boston, he was a staff member for senator ted kennedy and involved in some very contentious supreme court confer magdss himself then. was nominate as the second nominee from bill clinton after ruth bader ginsburg. a close ally of ruth bader ginsburg and soed miure and often a swing on big decisions like same-sex marriage and others that were in sink with the liberal minority. at that point, steve breyer became part of a three-member minority, descenting very frequently. there he is with his wife, joana and of course justice scalia and al gore when he was first nominated to be part of the supreme court by, of course, bill clinton. steven g. breyer, this is an enormous change in the court in washington. pete williams broke the story exclusively on nbc news just now. pete, talk to us about the importance, significance of steve breyer stepping down and what you think is probably his thinking. >> as you know there was a discussion at the end of last term whether he was going to step down. it was clear he thought about it and decided not to do so. he said publicly at the time, he'd just written a book about the supreme court and why the countries follows supreme court decisions. he didn't want the timing of his retirement to be seen as something political. apparently he's decided that enough time has past that's not going to bow a concern now. there was enormous pressure on him and has been since president biden was elected, especially after the death of ruth bader ginsburg, which gave donald trump a chance to appoint amy coney barrett to the court. there was lots of pressure on breyer to step down, despite the fact he's in good health, so his successor could be chosen while there's still a democrat in the white house and a democratic control of the u.s. senate. the fact is that whatever -- whether that is the reason he's stepping down or not, that is the consequences what it will be. in order to give the democrats a chance a keep the current 6-3 split on the court, conservatives and liberals with justice stephen breyer being the senior on the court against the six conservatives. our understanding is that his intention is to step down at the end of the supreme court term, which would be in late june or early july, rather than the sometimes customs that supreme court justice follow, where they say that they'll step down upon the conformation of their successor. and it may be that justice breyer wants to make it more urgent for the senate to act in order to get hiss successor confirmed. white house, as you know, the president said he was committed to appointing a black female to the supreme court and the two names that have come most aufen up is a federal appeals judge in washington and leon dekruger, a justice on the california supreme court. judge brown jackson, district court judge in washington. so, those are two names we'll undoubtedly be hearing a lot more of in the coming days. i think it's important to say that, as far as we know, it's nothing to do with the justice's health. he's certainly in fine health, as far as we know. i think maybe he's decided that, after 28 years, it's time for him to move on. so, we expect the formal announcement, formal notification to come within the next 24 hours or so and a formal recognition of the fact this is happening. >> he's very close to ron clan. he was on senator kennedy's staff, steve breyer was before he became a federal judge. he knows what happened to his good friend, merrick garland. he's aware of those realities. but did not want to be bullied and pressured. and certainly the pressure was intense last year in july and beginning of the fall. his book really evolved from a harvard lecture a scalia lecture he'd given. he was originally going to give it in france. he's a frank ofile. and that book that he had written was about the importance of not politicizing the court and then, of course, all this political attack from the left came of course as from the right. and he was caught in the middle. he in fact was supposed to be doing an interview with us this week about the book. he'd done a number of book interviews and did regret he couldn't do that. i had sort of a sense something might be coming. >> number one is you will have experienced hands in the white house here because you mentioned ron clan. and you have to consider the fact that president biden was the chairman of the senate judiciary committee for many years. between the two of them, they know how to get somebody through the conformation process. as for justice breyer giving a speech in france, he taught himself french. and he once told a small group of us, you know you can learn french. you can teach it to yourself. for it's easy. which i think speaks to his mental capacity. he's certainly going to leave a legacy on the court that you've talked about. he's an expert on administrative law. and for that reason, he was not always a consistent sort of rubber stamp vote with the liberals because sometimes on questions of administrative law, he would vote with conservatives as well. generally speaking, his record was one of the court's liberals. and as his position now is the senior liberal on the court. that will leave a gap. >> and i want to bring in peter alexander. i know you've got a lot of reporting to do. but signal when you have a scoot. peter alexander, there's a statement now from jen sake. if you want to share that, i've got it in front of me. but basically making the point that this was a decision up to him. that this was not pressure from the white house. >> exactly right. jen sake just moments ago tweeting about this, given our reporting right now. she wrietsz it's always been the decision of any supreme court justice if and when they decide to retire and how they want to announce it and that remains the case today. we have no additional details or information to share from the white house at this point. the president, his top aids over the course of the last several months rebuffed the push among democratic activists who wanted the white house to pressure justice breyer to retire. obviously many progressives were suffering ptsd about ruth bader ginsburg's decision to stick around through the obama presidency. that allowed for donald trump to find her replacement. >> and let me jump in for a second because pete williams does have to do some more additional reporting for reactions. so, before we lose you, can you give us any additional insight into what this means for the court. >> i was just going to say in terms of justice breyer's legacy, he always believed that the whole question of how you interpret the constitution, that the change with time. you have to think about the effects of your decision and that put him at odds with some of the more conservative textualests on the court who believe it has to be interpreted based solely on the words of the founders and the words of the document. so, this originalests, verses more practical consideration was, for him, an an mating principal. he's written several books about it. i think one of the reasons he said he knew one of the effects of retirement would be people wouldn't be as interested in his books if he retired for from the supreme court and he's going to find out if that's true. >> he would step down if he thought that his presence was hurting the institution of the court. and i think that has to be top and foremost as we see the likelihood of the senate going republican or the possibility and of mitch mcconnell not permitting joe biden to get a nominee on the court. >> i think that's probably true. remember most supreme court justices do not time their retirements based on political considerations like elections. but we're in a different time here. it's a much more divided senate. a much more divided country and so those old practices i think -- i don't know how much relevance they have anymore. and as a person who worked in the senate, a senate staffer. remember he was a staffer to senator kennedy. he understands the politics of washington and knows how the town works. i think that's probably something he's born in mind. >> i know you've got a lot more to do as you broke the story. and it's quite a scoop. pete williams, in your long line of scoops. i'm going back to the other pete or peter alexander. so, let me bring in barbara because as a former prosecutor and as a lawyer, professor, you know the impact of steve breyer. one that occurs to me is he was rather conservative or nuanced on big economic issues when they hit the court. but on the core issues of personal liberty and freedoms and same-sex marriage and guns and choice on abortion, he was completely in sink with ruth bader ginsburg and sort -- soed meyer. >> i think pete used the word pragmatist. he's out in the world. he'd worked in the senate. he'd been anned a min straightive law professor. there was a sense of trying to make things work. he wasn't always as progressive as some people might like. but when it came to the core issues like abortion and voting rights and other kinds of things, he was a reliable liberal vote. so important i think that joe biden get to make this appointment. if he were to wait until after the midterms, i think we could see a senate taken over by republican votes or we could see one of those situations, if that the case, where mitch mcconnell says we're too close to a presidential election. we should wait and let the people decide. i think he sees where we're headed and knows we need to get out now while we have several months ahead for joe biden to pick the successor and the senate to approve. >> the white house was prepared for this possibility and as you've been pointing out, they have they are list. >> obviously the president, as candidate, made history saying he would be the first to appoint an african-american woman to the supreme court and already you can imagine the conversation, whether it's behind the scenes, there has been preparation and anticipation of this potential, especially given the chief of staff to president biden is ron clane, who's been at the center of the supreme court decisions over much of the last 30 years. he's served in the counsel's office here when ruth bader ginsburg was selected by president clinton many decades ago. and a lot of attention will focus on one name in particular. judge jackson with the d.c. circuit court. she replaced merrick garland upon his departure of prominence. african-american judge, who has received high praise across the board among progressives and others. i think that's a name you'll hear about. likely the president would be inclined to select a younger justice as well. none of the last seven have been older than 55. for those keeping track at home again, justice breyer is 83. the next oldest justice on the court is clarence thomas, who is 73. but the white house has broadly been quiet about this. they have not wanted to politicize the process. they push back on the effort of some democratic activists, that they would try to give a shove to justice breyer throughout the process. and now, as evidenced by jen sake, speaking about it a bit publicly, there is going to be a lot of new focus on this administration, on this president, not just today but over the next several days and weeks of what happens going forward. i think it's notable going forward of the even divide in the senate that a lot of eyes are going to be focussed on two senators. sinema and senator joe manchin, who have almost single handedly been able to hold back some of the president's other desires as relates to legislative proposals. >> and argued extensively in front of the supreme court. your experience with the court and you understand the dynamics and the friendships that kpigs there. because there are broad friendships across partisan lines. but it's really notable. steve breyer, of course, the last of the bill clinton nominees to be stepping down at the end of his term. >> i'm glad you started with that. i had the privilege of being justice breyer's law clerk and got to see first hand the way he operated, which was to extend friendship to everyone. he had a constitutional humility about him. he wanted to learn from other people. he's antithesis of what the january 6th, post-trump america has become. he forged relationships with people on the other side, listened to them, learned from them and that influenced his jurisprudence. he's a brilliant juris. he's an incredibly decent man and he leaves behind, i think, an incredible judicial legacy. standing up for people, making sure government works for them. it's been a tough time, obviously, for him on the court in that he didn't have a lot of allies. the court was dominated, most of his time there by very strong conservative majority. i think he joined at a time when it was 7-2 majority of republican appointees. that later became 5-4 and is now 6-3 in terms of presidential appointees. and that doesn't predict everything but it does, i think, signal justice breyer has been in the minority his entire time on the court in terms of presidential appointments. sometimes he was able to drive consensus and build a coalition around even progressive issues with the conservative court but often times he couldn't do that and he wrote what are called descenting opinions with the court and some of those i think will be his great legacy. >> and i want to share something with your indulgence, something personal i wrote for nbc news.com when justice ginsburg died. i called steve breyer. i knew how close they were. he was reciting rosh hashanah, the prayer for the dead, watching a virtual service, because it was covid, with his children and grandchildren when he learned his dear friend and colleague, ruth bader ginsburg passed away. at the end of the service for her in washington, he came on the program and what he said to me was. she was a great justess, a woman of valor, a rock of righteousness and my good, good friend. those are the things i think she contributed. she made the world a better place to live un. so, you think oh dear and you think thank you, thank you, thank you. that's what a lot of people who believe steve breyer's work, who clerked for him and resentful of the political pressure placed on him because ultimately of the way people reacted to the mitch mcconnell treating merrick garland so grievously. according to those that believe presidents should have the ability to nominate and try to get confirmed people who are their choices because it had never been done before when the death of a justice happened in february, to not even grant that purse an hearing. people have been rejected but not, not granted a hearing. that's the context and the way people feel about steve breyer and know him well and know him personally. because i know a lot of people who have clerked for him. >> that's 100% right. i would say those of us who did get to work with him, that spirit of what you were saying, that was true with him with every justice. on that court. and the sad thing is the supreme court has become a political football with mitch mcconnell almost destined to try to destroy the thing and undermine its credibility. i can imagine that must have weighed on the justice as he thought about retirement. and whether or not they would actually treat a replacement nominee fairly or even give them a hearing. and fortunately, there are enough democrats now to guarantee a hearing, unlike what happened to merrick garland in 2016. but it's an incredibly toxic atmosphere. for it's the opposite of what justice breyer stood for as a person and a juris. >> we don't know of any health problem that may have intervened. he was always physically strong. he used to bicycle to the court. i believe there was an accident and a broken elbow and people in his family, maybe security at some point, persuaded him not to bicycle through washington to the court. are you familiar with any of that? >> all of it. when i was clerking, he would be on the tread mill and teach himself french. and ultimately was fluent by the end of the year. which is a testament to his mental acuety and how much time he was on the tread mill. he's been profoundly good shape. and yes, he was an avid bicycler and many of us implored him after a tough accident which he had to have a shoulder replaced to maybe go back to the tread mill. i'm not aware of any health problems. i don't think that's what's going on here. >> we just showed a picture of him wearing a brace for the elbow after the injury. and washington nationals cap at the ball park. so, he was -- he is a great athlete. certainly to my knowledge. joining us now also is our friend, john meacham, historian and author. distinguished professor at vanderbilt university. this will be a historical moment when he steps down. he will be notifying the white house in writing, as is the form that is proper. that he will step down at the end of the term. which means he'll still be deciding a lot of the big cases including abortion. or issuing descents if the court rules as many have said it's probably going to on some of the big cases. guns and abortion come to mind. but his historic role as a clinton nominee, justice ginsburg's close friend. and occasionally with justice kennedy and roberts on obamacare. importantly and also on same-sex marriage. on decisions where, even though they were in the minority, they managed to work through their relationships to achieve majority. one case justice ginsburg fake uctalked about, where they were the minority and it ended up being 7-2 after she was assigned to write the opinion. >> as you say, the supreme court is this vital element in the life of the nation. and it only gets a kind of episoughtic attention in the broad public conversation. put we've seen again and again and again how critical it is. except for president carter, every president since -- well, forever i guess, has had a chance to appoint someone at looegs one to be president. president ford appointed john paul stevens. in that brief period. george h.w. bush had two appointments. i think one of the things that, in this unfolding democratic crisis, which is what we are living in, this is a big moment of testing for country itself. for the senate. for president biden as these institutions come under increasing attack. i think this is an important moment for us to remember why the constitution matters. why the personality, the character, as you were just talking about, of the justice matters. and i think -- i hope that it has a chance here with all respect to justice breyer. i hope this is a moment where perhaps the sigsm can work. perhaps in fact, there can be an affirmation that this flawed, but noble experiment in trying to become a more perfect union can go forward instead of descending reflexably into a partisan struggle. >> that may be too much to hope for given the way the court -- reaction to the court a has evolved. members of the court have tried, certainly the chief justice, have tried to keep it out of the political attacks and counterattacks. but the last couple of conformations and the nonconformation of merrick garland contributed to all of that. >> i have want to be clear. i don't think we're going to be in a 90-10 world like we were in even 30 and 40 years ago. but i do think that, given the infrastructure of partisanship that has come really in the last 30 years or so, has become so vital. so shaping. i just hope that the nominee, i hope the process has a certain kind of gravity and even, dare i say it and if may be too sentimental, maybe a kind of dignity. because whether it's roe verses wade or brown verses board of education or bush v gore or the marriage equality decision, just again and again and again. it is the supreme court that has played a vital role in determining the course of the nation. and i will say this. one of the reasons i believe that conservatives have focussed so much on the courts does go back to republican presidents, eisenhower, nixon, ford, reagan, bush, who would run to the right during a campaign but then ultimately, in many cases, appointed justice that did not deliver what the republican base wanted. the war in court. who appointed her a warren to be chief justice? eisenhower. brennan? izen hour. so, i think that there's -- there's an instinctive capacity on the right to make the supreme court more central to their political arguments. and wroevrl seen this clearly in the last decade. you mentioned general garland and his experience. and the democratic party has not done that -- has not made it as central. and i think that's not a partisan point. just an observation. the country's getting ready to have a kind of crash course in supreme court politics. and my hope would be that yes, it's an inherently political organization. it would be full hearty to say it wasn't. but without a court and legitimacy about the court, the constitutional experiment is in more jeopardy than it's already in. >> i wanted to ask you about how you believe this white house is going to proceed. >> i was reminded, while you were speaking to john meacham there, last spring, during the transition period, the top advisors including the former white house counsel who you know well and the current white house counsel, that they made a formal presentation to soon to be president biden about candidates to the supreme court. that was intensely focussed on their expectation that it was important to be prepared in case there was to be a justice retiring or departing at any other form. and they focussed in that conversation on a list that was never shared publicly but did demonstrate their desire to get ahead of this. especially given the public determination and public notification of the american people that he would bow selecting the first african-american female for that post. the presentation actually coincided about the discussion of who would replace merrick garland on the d.c. district after president biden had nominated merrick garland. and tanji jackson who was elecced to replace garland in the d.c. circuit. whoever the selection may be. judge jackson was confirmed by a margin of 53-44 with the same makeup effectively the same makeup of the senate last summer. but again from the white house, we have heard nothing specifically about this. theyerant even confirming justice's intentions to retire. the president is hosting ceos as his intention in that event is to focus on the build back better agenda. the ceos from ford, microsoft, salesforce, are all on board with the build back better plans. but i will be among reporters in the room. but among the shouted questions will beabout his intentions and plans going forward as it appears clear he will soon have a decision to make about who he will nominate to be the next supreme court justice. >> and there some indication that we'd heard that the white house might want to give him a ceremonial sendoff, even before a nominee is ready to be named. >> i know pete williams and i have had conversations. the expectation is some form of a ceremony. over the last couple of hours, no one is confirming that would take place. flrls but it would be by tradition. the democratic administration would fet a justice nominated under a democrat president, president clinton. the temperature is roughly 20 degres with the wind chill. but i suspect before the end of this week we could see a ceremony at the white house. >> and barbara mcquaid, if you're still with us, could we talk a bit about how the court is likely to evolve in this transitional period. because, well, for the remainder of this, it's justice breyer. but we're still going to have a 6-3 court. with less experience than justice breyer had to try to mold relationships. that's one of the justifications that ruth bader ginsburg gave. it was her relationships that could help shape and create coalitions and consensus and that's what breyer has been able to do as well. >> the successor is only going to hold the liberal seat. they're not going to advance a liberal agenda in any way. but one other thing that justice ruth bader ginsburg used to say is descenting opinions are not written for today. they're writton for tomorrow tomorrow. so, even if the successor justice to justice breyer is not offering for majority. it may take a while to get to the point where there's a majority with a more progressive world view. but we need to think of the work of the court for the next generation. yesterday's descent can be the next generation' majority opinion. i think whoever this person is needs to be thut of that way. using the seat for a moderate voigs might be a mistake. it might be a time to go for a progressive voice. you have to get the person confirmed in the senate. that will require the support of joe manchin and sinema. they may only approve someone who's a more moderate voice. i know we've been talking about people who are judges and perhaps somebody working for public service, interest. might be that more progressive voice. >> i would not rule out getting some republican votes for the right nominee as well. could bow a progressive person. but i would not assume this has to just be a democrat. because in years past, of course, these -- aside from clarence thomas, these were not such closely fought nominations. you did have bipartisan support. in all of the supreme court conformation votes. let me just bring in phil rutger i who i should say has just been named deputy national editor at "washington post," which is an enormous honor and privilege by his peers because he's so well celebrated as a prize-winning reporter as well as great author. phil, congradlations to you and with your long experience in washington. >> thank you. what a monumental news moment we're in right now. obviously a deep legacy he'd be leaving behind when he retires, as your other guests have talked so much about. it's an extraordinary political moment for president biden who has struggled in his first year to gain political momentum. here he has a chance to install his own pick, his own person on to the supreme court and at a moment of pitched political debate in washington and around the country. look for abortion politics to play into the decision in the next couple of weeks as the fate of roe verses wade is hanging in the balance before this court. and keep in mind the midterm elections are coming up in november. so, the pick of biden for the nominee is going to have a lot to do with galvanizing voters on both sides heading to the midterms. >> one of the things that you watch so closely is ron clain. he's been under fire but this is something he knows so well. this is right in his ball park, if you will. trying to get justices confirmed. >> that's right. it's also by the way an issue that president biden knows very well. he spent years on the senate judiciary committee. he's a veteran of supreme court conformation battles. you can look for the president to take a personal interest, not only in his selection but in the hour-by-hour, day-by-day process of getting the person confirmed in the 50-person senate. and vice president harris was dealing with the conformation battles herself first-hand. so i this is a white house ready for what's to come and you can expect they're going to be methodical in the weeks ahead to roll out this plan. >> i have great thanks to you, phil rutker, to barbara mcquaid, peter alexander and to pete williams for breaking the story. it's been a very busy news day here. secretary blinken has been speaking at the state department. the letter has gone the embassy in moscow. and blinken is in the state department briefing room, apparently about to speak. i have to go on assignment. my colleague is going to pick up our coverage on the retirement of justice brieer after a quick break. e retirement of justice brieer after a quick break. you could, but i'm not gonna. subway keeps refreshing and refreshing and re... mm. 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saving up to 400 bucks? exactly. wait, shouldn't you be navigating? xfinity mobile. it's wireless that does it all and saves a lot. like a lot, a lot. and we are back with the breaking news that the retirement of steven breyer is expected at the end of the term. he is the oldest justice on the u.s. supreme court and has been under a tremendous amount of pressure by progressives who wanted to make sure that president biden had a chance to select the next nominee. we've talked a lot about the impact of stephen breyer but let's talk about the process. what happens now? >> reporter: he'll continue for the regs of this term. we haven't heard from him yet whether he plans to stay at the end term or until his successor is confirmed. sometimes people say that. that has a little value because that means there won't be a vacancy on the court. there was a period when justice scalia died, there were only eight. and we had cases where there was a 4-4 tie. i'm hopeful that, in light of justice breyer's health, he'll stick around until his successor is confirmed. i would imagine it's in the summer term when the court is typically away from formal sessions. some vetting will occur, if it hasn't already. president biden has committed to selecting an african-american woman. looking at the list of current judges is obvious and maybe people who have been public defenders or public interest law. perhaps he'll look more broadly. once that person is identified, then the courtship begins. they'll typically have them meet with senators. i would imagine they want to make sure the nominee is someone they can get past kirsten sinema and joe manchin. maybe they get a phone call in advance to make sure this is somebody that they'll give serious consideration to. but they'll have meetings with all the senators to address any concerns they might have and see if they can get their votes, including republicans who may be inclined to cross over and vote for him. after that happens, there will be a hearing in the senate. that will be musz-see tv. also a lot of opportunities for political grandstapding. i'm sure we're going to hear from senators cruz and holly, a chance to thump their chest and talk about issues that play well on the local news back home and eventually the senate will have a vote. and one hopes that, with the votes necessary, this can hap beenfore midterms and this person will be in place before the next term starts in october. and joining me is ashley parker. while, as we said, there have been a lot of pressure, particularly last summer on justice breyer to consider retiring. at the same time joe biden was vice president when merrick garland never got a hearing. that continues to sting for democrats. how many conversations there have been had, how many preparations have been made in the eventuality that this might happen? >> reporter: going back to your original point, there was something fascinating where justice breyer was under tremendous pressure by progressives and liberal groups. sometimes getting furious with them for not retiring. president biden himself, they were pleszed a number of times and reluctant to weigh in. in part, that's because you have the dynamic of in what world can a president tell an 83-year-old justice your too old to do your job but now is the time to retire. it's a matter of respect. you saw that today. the only statement out of the white house so far has been by the press secretary who tweeted out that the decision of the supreme court justice to retire is theirs entirely. they choose when to do it, how to do it and the white house has no other comment on that. there's absolutely something that is one of the biggest decisions any president can make. so, of course, there has been planning and thinking inside the administration, including back it that campaign promise that he will appoint an african-american woman justice to fill any slot he has. >> i also want to bring in jim. correct me if memory is not serving me well right now. but i think you were deputy chief of staff in the obama white house at the time of the nomination of sotomayor and who are the key people involved? >> the president's chief of staff will help run the process for barack obama for both picks when i was in the white house. biden was very much involved. he's former chair of the judiciary committee. this is not something they haven't been thinking about for a long time. they'll already have a short list prepared of people to start thinking about. i think you're right they're going to look for an african-american woman first. this is something where clane will be very involved in the process. typically this is how it works. they have a lot of lawyers in the room talking about who could be the best justice, as they should. and eventually walk down the hall and say how do we get manchin and sinema and to 50 votes on this purse snn and both of those processes will be run internally and, in this much of a divided court, and a divided country, the politics will matter more than in past picks. one other thing. this is going to be a lightening rod on the abortion issue. as you know the supreme court is likely to rule on roe v wade by june. this pick is going to get pull ed into all those politics. there are more political things to think about than in most supreme court picks. >> i wonder and this was touched on when andrea was talking in our last half hour, beginning of the half hour. but do you see a world, given the political environment, that there's a republican who could back a joe biden nominee? >> you know it's happened in the past. you would hope susan collins and people like that would at least be open minded. we're understanding of the politics right now. but if there's someone that biden picks that has gotten votes in the past, they're going to look at that and say has this person been confirmed for a district or appeals court? did they get republican votes? that's kind of the person they're going to look at. they can't lose any democrats and certainly they would like to have someone who can get a couple votes with the republicans. that said we know it's an election year and hard for republicans to vote for this. they're going to care more about the moderates in their own party than the other party if there's still any left. >> also with us msnbc chief legal correspondent and host of "the beat", ari. what was the first thing that went through your mind? >> the first thing that went through my mind, honestly, is how different senate conformations are these days. everybody remembers the hijacking of obama's pick and how divisive the last two were under president. how divisive trump's picks have been. that's the big question front of mind, i don't think the democrats will put forth a strategy where they are planning on, basically, relying on republican votes, though it's possible. in the obama era, sotomayor got more than 60 votes. this will be all about making sure joe biden has hi 50 votes in advance, and they have probably something that matches the big and unprecedented commitment he made during the campaign, where they spoke about adding diverse quit to the court. >> i want to bring in kellie o'donnell who 'been around washington a very long time. going back to whaef talk about so much in recent weeks, which is that joe biden ran on the idea that he was somebody who had all these relationships in the u.s. senate, he was someone who could get things done. to reiterate, there are few decisions by any president more consequentially and more long-lasting than nominating a supreme court justice. tell us what you're hearing from inside that building behind you right now. >> reporter: one of the things we've been reporting on extensively, chris, in the last couple weeks is the reset for week 2 of the biden presidency. we talked about how could the president reach out and try to repair some of the disappointment in his core constituency of african-american voters? how could he get out and look in the eyes of american voters, trying to get out into the country more? how can he restore build back better? a lot of those things changed with simply this incredible news today, because, if the president does follow through with his publicly stated goal of naming an african-american jurist, a woman, to this post, presuming we hear from justice breyer in the next couple days announcing his retirement. that certainly would be a new way to communicate to the african-american community about the commitment there. that could change some of the dynamic that may energize some of that base. it also certainly speaks to interest and the politics of the core constituency. i'm not a lawyer. i cannot speak to all of the best candidates for whom should be considered, but in terms of the politics, big things changes. the president also has a state of the union address coming up, scheduled for march 1st. the dynamics around that did now change. build back better, trying to fix the remnants of that, trying to find a way to refashion that, that could certainly still be a big problem if the senate is consumed with the work of beginning what is always time-consuming and, in recent years, certainly divisive, the work of a confirmation process. it begins with enormous amounts of lobbingying can, and then eventually the voting begins. certainly we have to look at the political instincts of the justice himself, who by all accounts appears healthy and well and made this decision from the political landscape. >> jon meacham is back with us. and the president has stated many times his determinations to get to the other side of that. is it asking too much? is it impossible to think the way he approaches this and who he ultimately decides can, at least, take a step toward democracy, toward healing, or is this going a process where you just hope, if you're a supporter of joe biden, gets through it. >> kelly, as you say, it lays out perfectly. some of our fines hours as a nation have been because of the supreme court and some of the our worst hours as a nation have been because of the supreme court, whether it's dred scott, or plesyb. ferguson. on the bright it's brown versus board of education. the court matters so much that you almost never -- you really know exactly how a supreme court appointments, once that person is on the bench, what implications that will have for the life of the country whether people talk about we focus too much on politics or partisanship, this horse race or that horse race. this is why those horse races matter, a moment exactly like this. so in terms of the stress test we're facing for the constitution, i think that the hope needs to be this person is confirmed, that they represent this journey toward a more perfect union, because this court could very well, very well be deciding big, big presidential election questions, all the panoply of issues that they alls do. >> jon meacham, that's a one of the way to end this report. andrea will be back here tomorrow. chuck todd and "mtp daily" starts right after this with much more on the breaking news, the expected retirement of supreme court justice stephen brier. e expected retirement of supreme court justice stephen supreme court justice stephen brier.it just, flow. whether it's finding new ways to help you serve your customers, orchestrating a safe return to the office... what's an office? 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