The Democrats are having a very bad day after a week of bad news. A longtime Supreme Court justice is retiring. Now, Donald Trump will get to appoint a second justice to the highest court.
Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy announced that he will leave the Court after 30 years. Although he was a conservative Republican, his was the most frequent swing vote.
One of the primary issues that will be coming before the Court is Roe v. Wade. If a highly conservative justice replaced Kennedy, that does not look good for its future. Another top issue is gun rights.
Republicans will likely try to press a Trump appointee through quickly before the midterm elections. That would generate Republican voter enthusiasm to compete with Democrats.
Experts anticipate that POTUS could try to appoint a Robert Bork-like justice. Bork was nominated just prior to Kennedy.
However, Bork was so conservative that his nomination was thrown out, and Kennedy was his replacement. Any name will cause some backlash.
Other experts say that Trump has been looking at a list of middle-ground options, like Neil Gorsuch, to fill the position. Republicans believe that such an option would garner some Democratic votes. Three Democrats voted for Gorsuch, who has towed the Trump line.
Democrats used the filibuster on Gorsuch, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) killed that form of filibuster.
The Democrats were already irate, because McConnell stole President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court justice pick. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) should not allow for any hearings or vote to proceed before the Court’s replacement.
He has a whole host of tactics available, including slow-walking bills. If, Schumer does not play hardball on this appointment, already unhappy Democrats will start voting out the older members of Congress.
Justice Kennedy was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1987 and served 30 years on the Supreme Court. The reason he decided to leave was that even as a conservative Republican, he was very uncomfortable with Trump. The justice’s family was willing for him to continue to serve, but he wanted to spend more time with them.
This is t he full list of names that Trump will choose Kennedy’s replacement from, according to Utah Policy.
- Amy Coney Barrett of Indiana, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
- Keith Blackwell of Georgia, Supreme Court of Georgia
- Charles Canady of Florida, Supreme Court of Florida
- Steven Colloton of Iowa, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
- Allison Eid of Colorado, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
- Britt Grant of Georgia, Supreme Court of Georgia
- Raymond Gruender of Missouri, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
- Thomas Hardiman of Pennsylvania, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
- Brett Kavanaugh of Maryland, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
- Raymond Kethledge of Michigan, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- Joan Larsen of Michigan, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- Mike Lee of Utah, United States Senator
- Thomas Lee of Utah, Supreme Court of Utah
- Edward Mansfield of Iowa, Supreme Court of Iowa
- Federico Moreno of Florida, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida
- Kevin Newsom of Alabama, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- William Pryor of Alabama, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- Margaret Ryan of Virginia, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces
- David Stras of Minnesota, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
- Diane Sykes of Wisconsin, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
- Amul Thapar of Kentucky, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- Timothy Tymkovich of Colorado, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
- Robert Young of Michigan, Supreme Court of Michigan (Ret.)
- Don Willett of Texas, Supreme Court of Texas
- Patrick Wyrick of Oklahoma, Supreme Court of Oklahoma
Featured Image via Getty Images/Eric Thayer.
