RBG’s Death and the Future of the Supreme Court
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died last Friday from pancreatic cancer, and the race to replace her has already begun. To replace a U.S. Supreme Court Justice the President must first nominate a replacement, and then the replacement must be confirmed by the Senate by a simple majority. Republicans currently control the Presidency and the Senate so it is likely that they will be able to replace Ginsburg and create a 6 to 3 Republican majority on the court. If Trump replaces Ginsburg, he will have appointed more Supreme Court Justices than any president since Reagan, and he will have done it in only one term.
Democrats are quick to point out that in 2016 when conservative Justice Antonin Scalia died, the Republican-controlled Senate refused to even vote on Obama's nominee, Merrick Garland. A large portion of Senate Republicans in 2016 claimed that appointments shouldn’t be made in election years.
At the time, Senate Judiciary Committee chair, Lindsey Graham, said, “I want you to use my words against me. If there's a Republican president in 2016 and a vacancy occurs in the last year of the first term, you can say Lindsey Graham said let's let the next president, whoever it might be, make that nomination.” Many Republicans, including Graham, have changed their stance on the topic since 2016. Republican senator Ted Cruz pointed to the fact that every time there has been a Supreme Court opening in an election year the president has nominated a Justice, and when the senate has been of the same party as the president, the Justice has typically been confirmed (fifteen out of the seventeen times to be exact). President Trump will not be an exception in this sense, and he has said he intends to nominate a female replacement for Ginsburg this Saturday. It is likely that Trump’s nominee will be confirmed before election day, as Republicans have a 53 person majority in a 100 person senate.
~ This is a developing story and the SNN will be sure to keep you updated. ~
By: Ben Butcher
