Associated Press

Retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens is quoted as saying that Brett Kavanaugh shouldn't be confirmed to the high court because of Kavanaugh's potential political bias.

It's rare for a retired justice to weigh in on a pending nomination.

The Palm Beach Post reports that Stevens, in remarks to a group of retirees in Florida, suggested Kavanaugh lacked the temperament for the lifetime appointment.

Stevens, who's praised Kavanaugh before, says he's changed his mind about Kavanaugh for reasons unrelated to Kavanaugh's "intellectual ability."

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Stevens is quoted as saying, "I feel his performance in the hearings ultimately changed my mind."

He says commentators have argued that Kavanaugh's Senate testimony last week showed a potential for political bias.

And the newspaper says Stevens says he thinks "there's merit to that criticism and I think the senators should really pay attention that."

The 98-year-old Stevens was nominated to the court by Republican President Gerald Ford and served from 1975 to 2010.