Retirement sets off nominee battle
Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement is setting off a momentous confirmation battle for United States President Donald Trump’s next Supreme Court nominee that is certain to consume the Senate, inflame partisan tensions and shape the outcome of the midterm elections.
All sides quickly mobilised yesterday after Kennedy — a singular voice on the court whose votes have decided issues on abortion, affirmative action, gay rights, guns, campaign finance and voting rights — sent shockwaves through Washington by announcing his retirement plans.
Trump said he would start the effort to replace Kennedy ‘‘immediately’’ and would pick from a list of 25 names that he updated last year.
‘‘We have to pick a great one. We have to pick one that’s going to be there for 40 years, 45 years,’’ Trump told supporters at a rally in Fargo, North Dakota, on last night. ‘‘You know there’s so many elements [that] go into the making of a great justice of the Supreme Court.’’
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declared that the Senate ‘‘will vote to confirm Justice Kennedy’s successor this fall.’’
With Kennedy’s departure, Republicans have a longed-for opportunity to tip the balance of the court. It already has four justices picked by Democratic presidents and four picked by Republicans, so Trump’s pick could shift the ideological balance toward conservatives for years to come. Republicans also have a chance to make judicial nominees a top campaign issue, which could help motivate conservatives and evangelicals to vote in November. The playbook worked in 2016, when Republicans rallied around McConnell’s successful block of then-President Barack Obama’s nominee to the court, Merrick Garland.
If Republicans unite behind Trump’s selection, there’s little that Democrats can do to stop it. Republicans changed the Senate rules last year so that Supreme Court nominees cannot be filibustered, meaning only 51 votes will be required to confirm.
But while Republicans are aiming for speedy action, Democrats quickly argued that any decision should be put on hold until after midterm elections, citing McConnell’s 2016 moves. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said it would be the ‘‘height of hypocrisy’’ to vote sooner.
He said the voices of millions of Americans heading to the polls this fall ‘‘deserve to be heard.’’
McConnell refused to consider Garland because it was a presidential election year. He said the seat should be left open for the next president to fill.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, told reporters that the 2016 delay on Supreme Court confirmations only applied to presidential election years. He noted that Justice Elena Kagan was confirmed in 2010, a midterm election year. - AP