With a new Democratic president and a likely narrow Democratic U.S. Senate majority, pressure is expected to build on one U.S. Supreme Court justice—Stephen Breyer—to retire early enough to ensure the new administration can nominate and confirm a young liberal successor.

At age 82, Breyer is the oldest of the three Democratic-appointed justices serving on the Supreme Court. He was appointed in 1994 by President Bill Clinton. His two colleagues on the left, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, 66, and Justice Elena Kagan, 60, were tapped by President Barack Obama in 2009 and 2010, respectively.