Breyer’s Strong Bipartisan Confirmation ‘A Relic of the Past’

No matter how Stephen Breyer’s time on the U.S. Supreme Court is remembered, he may go down in history for the overwhelmingly bipartisan vote that got him there.

Nearly 80% of Senate Republicans supported his 1994 confirmation, a proportion of the opposing party that no nominee has gotten since—or may ever attract again.

Broad bipartisan support for a Supreme Court nominee is “a relic of the past in the short run,” said Neal Devins, a professor at William & Mary Law School who studies nominations.

Breyer is retiring, according to a person familiar with the justice’s thinking. ...