Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Thursday that Senate Democrats would block any "right-winger" President Donald Trump seeks to place on the Supreme Court after Democrats take control of the Senate.1,2,3
Schumer told the Associated Press that Democrats would block certain Trump choices for the high court if a seat opens in the next two years, a position that matters because a Supreme Court nominee must go to the Senate for final confirmation before leaving office. The Hill published its account of his comments on Nov. 6 at 7:59 a.m. ET, identifying him as Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, N.Y., and describing the pledge as applying after Democrats take control of the Senate.1,3
"The bottom line is we're not going to allow a right-winger on the court," Schumer said, vowing that Democrats would block "any crappy nominees" from the court. The remarks were directed at any "right-winger" Trump attempts to appoint to the Supreme Court, and Schumer framed the opposition as a refusal to allow a nominee of that description.1,3
Schumer told the Associated Press that the same opposition would extend to certain nominees to the lower courts, in addition to the Supreme Court. The reports did not specify which lower-court nominees would be opposed, what standard Democrats would apply beyond the descriptions Schumer used, or what procedural steps Democrats would use in the Senate to block a nomination.3
Neither of the court's two oldest justices, Samuel Alito or Clarence Thomas, has publicly indicated an imminent retirement. Both are in their 70s. A vacancy in the next two years, due to a retirement or death, would give Trump the opportunity to appoint a new justice before leaving office.3
Alito has signaled he is unsure how much longer he will stay on the court. But he told Bloomberg in October that he does not plan to retire during Trump's congressional lame-duck session or rush into retirement following the Democratic win of the Senate. The reports did not provide a comparable statement about future plans from Thomas, and it is not known from the reports whether either justice is considering retirement.3
Trump has already appointed three out of the nine justices sitting on the country's highest court, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. The reports available here end during the discussion of those three appointments, and they did not provide additional detail in the accessible text about the circumstances of those appointments or about the current composition of the court beyond the number nine and those three names.3
The pledge is tied to a change in Senate control. The Hill's description of Schumer's comments said Democrats would act after they take control of the Senate, and the Washington Examiner account referred to the Democratic win of the Senate in its discussion of retirement timing. The reports did not specify the date on which any change in control would take effect, the size of a Democratic majority, or how Senate procedures would be used during the lame-duck session versus after the new Senate is seated.1,3
A future vacancy in the next two years, due to a retirement or death, according to the Washington Examiner account, would give Trump the opportunity to appoint a new justice, who must go to the Senate for final confirmation. Because neither justice has publicly indicated an imminent retirement, it is not known from the reports whether Trump will have an opportunity to make another appointment before leaving office, whom he would select, or when any nomination fight would begin.3
The Hill's summary said Schumer's position could ramp up pressure on conservative Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas to retire this year, while Alito has said he does not plan to rush into retirement following the Democratic win of the Senate. It is not known from the reports what response, if any, Trump has made to Schumer's vow, what other Republicans have said about the pledge, or whether Democrats have discussed accepting a nominee described in other terms.1,3
For now, the next step described in the reports is contingent: if a seat opens through retirement or death, Trump would have the chance to nominate a successor and the Senate would consider confirmation. Absent such a vacancy, Schumer's statement remains a statement of intent about how Democrats would handle Supreme Court and lower-court nominees under a Democratic Senate.1,3
