Sotomayor: SCOTUS faces "unprecedented" threat in confirmation battles

• "As more senators, congressional representatives, governors, mayors, local politicians and the media question the legitimacy of the court, many of them heap scorn on the court," Sotomayor said, adding, "the threat is greater and unprecedented than any time in our history."

The big picture: Justice Stephen Breyer announced his retirement from the Supreme Court last month, setting up a battle to confirm President Biden's first Supreme Court opening, Axios' Oriana Gonzalez reports.

• The retirement also sets Sotomayor up to be the most senior liberal justice after Breyer's retirement, which is expected for this summer.
• Biden has pledged that he will nominate a Black woman to replace Breyer, and he said earlier this month that he will announce the nominee by the end of February.

What she's saying: "The more partisan the voting becomes, the less belief that the public is likely to have that Congress is making a merit-based or qualifications-based assessment of judicial nominees," Sotomayor said.

• "We need the public to hold its elected officials accountable in respecting the judiciary and its work," she said. "We can only do it if the public understands the importance of our independence."

Go deeper: Stephen Breyer formally announces retirement from Supreme Court