Battle looms over pick for top court
Trump vows to quickly replace retiring Supreme Court judge
The retirement of a Supreme Court judge in the United States has dramatically shifted the political landscape with midterm elections just months away.
Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement, announced yesterday, and President Donald Trump’s pledge to move quickly to fill the seat guarantee a searing US summer of charged rhetoric that could touch on virtually every hotbutton social and cultural issue in American politics.
The news was especially deflating for Democrats, who felt flashbacks to the 2016 presidential election, when the tantalising prospect of an open Supreme Court seat spurred some GOP voters to back Trump even if they found him personally objectionable.
It was a dramatic shift for Democrats who had been optimistic about seizing the House majority, if not the Senate. But for Republicans, the vacancy that could shape the court’s direction for a generation was like a gift from the political gods. In addition to a massive dose of energy, the Supreme Court fight is expected to trigger a flood of campaign cash that will strengthen the GOP’s midterm efforts.
“It’s a game changer,” said Republican strategist Chris Wilson. “There’s no piece of legislation, no executive order, no Supreme Court decision that would have created the level of motivation that an empty seat does.”
Indeed, a similar scenario played out in 2016 and, two years later, the strategy is proving successful for Republicans. Trump’s first pick for the Supreme Court, Neil Gorsuch, helped uphold the President’s ban on travel from several mostly Muslim countries this week. Gorsuch and his fellow conservatives delivered on another GOP priority yesterday in a decision that will deal a serious financial blow to Democratic-leaning organised labour.
It’s a game changer. There’s no piece of legislation, no executive order, no Supreme Court decision that would have created the level of motivation that an empty seat does. Chris Wilson
Trump now has a chance to nominate a second justice who could cement the court’s conservative bend and deliver Republican victories for years to come.
The political focus shifts immediately to the Senate, where 10 Democrats running for re-election in states Trump carried in 2016 will soon have to weigh in on the vacancy.
And Republicans, who have been struggling to energise their voters, now get a powerful persuader.
“It’s going to be a huge plus for Republican candidates in terms of answering that easy but sometimes difficult question: Why me? Why now?” said Republican strategist Andrea Bozek, who is working with several Republican candidates this cycle.
There was immediate pressure on Democrat Chuck Schumer, the Senate Minority Leader, to use all the tools at his disposal to stop Trump from filling a vacancy. But with the elimination of the filibuster on Supreme Court nominees, he doesn’t have much leverage beyond rhetoric and unifying his party, forcing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to supply the votes.
McConnell refused to even grant a committee hearing to President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland, arguing that voters should decide the issue. Democrats insisted that McConnell follow the same approach now.
Kennedy, 81, wrote in a statement: “It has been the greatest honour and privilege to serve our nation in the federal judiciary for 43 years, 30 of those years on the Supreme Court.” He said his final day will be July 31.
Kennedy has had a pivotal role at the centre of the nine-member court, which often rules on highly contentious laws, disputes between states and the federal Government, and final appeals to stay executions. The Californian, who joined the court in 1988 as a compromise choice of President Ronald Reagan, has provided the balance between more predictable conservatives and more consistent liberals, making him the most essential member of the modern court.
Kennedy cast the deciding vote that found a constitutional right for samesex couples to marry. He determined how far government may intrude on a woman’s right to an abortion and whether attempts to curtail the corrupting influence of campaign contributions violated free speech.
Abortion is likely to be the key focus in the nomination battle for his successor and forces on both sides made it clear that they are ready.
“The most important commitment that President Trump has made to the pro-life movement has been his promise to nominate only pro-life judges to the Supreme Court, a commitment he honoured by swiftly nominating Judge Neil Gorsuch,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, an anti-abortion group.
Nancy Northup, president and chief executive of the Centre for Reproductive Rights, said: “That promise should set off alarm bells for anyone who cares about women — and the Constitution.”