Attempts by progressives to push Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor into retirement and replace her with a younger judge before the end of President Joe Biden's first term face roadblocks even among Democrats.
First and foremost, there's Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who told the Washington Examiner he will not vote to confirm any Supreme Court justice who cannot attract Republican support.
That reinforces what the retiring senator told Politico last month when he said he will not support Biden's judicial picks who don't have any GOP support.
"Just one Republican. That's all I'm asking for. Give me something bipartisan. This is my own little filibuster," Manchin said. "If they can't get one Republican, I vote for none. I've told [Democrats] that. I said, 'I'm sick and tired of it, I can't take it anymore.'"
That's significant because Democrats currently hold a 51-49 edge in the Senate.
The moderate Manchin already has blocked Dems from eliminating the filibuster and a host of progressive priorities.
There's also Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., a former Democrat, and several other swing-state Democrats seeking reelection who could oppose replacing Sotomayor, who turns 70 in June.
Sotomayor battled a childhood diabetes diagnosis but, by all accounts, is relatively healthy now.
"She's a pup around here," joked the 76-year-old Manchin, no doubt aware justices often retire in their 80s.
Progressives, understanding the possibility that Democrats will lose the White House and Senate in November, want to replace Sotomayor with another liberal to avoid a repeat of what happened with former Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Even Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., last week suggested that Sotomayor "weigh the competing factors," telling NBC News that "we should learn a lesson" from Ginsburg's untimely death.
Ginsburg, then 87, died while still on the bench in September 2020 as then-President Donald Trump's term was winding down.
Trump nominated Amy Coney Barrett to replace Ginsburg. Coney Barrett was confirmed and cemented what became a 6-3 conservative majority.
Some Democrats, including some saying liberals were targeting the only Latina justice, are pushing back on the progressive calls for Sotomayor to retire.
"She brings a tremendously important perspective to the court that was lacking prior to her arrival," said Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the Examiner reported Wednesday.
Blumenthal also amended his earlier statement concerning Sotomayor, telling the Examiner, "She should decide what is right for her. I'm not saying she should resign."