Sotomayor Now Facing Pressure from Democrat Senator to Retire

We have seen quite a few activists demand that Justice Sotomayor step down now to ensure Joe Biden can appoint another liberal in her place.

At 69 and about to turn 70 in June, Sotomayor’s health history has raised alarms for liberals, and now Democrats.

While most Democrats have been silent on the matter, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) is now adding to the calls for Sotomayor to step down.

Time to Go

Blumenthal has taken a different approach to the others that are demanding she step down.

Blumenthal stated, “I’m very respectful of Justice Sotomayor.

“I have great admiration for her. But I think she really has to weigh the competing factors.

“We should learn a lesson. And it’s not like there’s any mystery here about what the lesson should be.

“The old saying — graveyards are full of indispensable people, ourselves in [the Senate] included.”

He added, “Justices have to make their personal decisions about their health and their level of energy, but also to keep in mind the larger national and public interest in making sure that the court looks and thinks like America.”

Sotomayor has been on the bench since 2009, appointed by then-President Barack Obama.

She is the third-oldest justice, only surpassed by Justices Alito and Thomas.

The Democrats' worry is that if Biden loses, it could be more than a decade before Democrats get back into the White House.

If that scenario plays out, conservatives will have seven of the nine seats on the court, and they will hold them for decades based on the ages of the justices.

For her part, Sotomayor had dismissed the calls, believing that her work on the court had not yet concluded.

With the clock running in regard to Biden having enough time to vet a replacement and the Senate to approve her replacement, expect the heat to get turned up considerably as we get closer to the point of no return.