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President Donald Trump nominated this Saturday to Amy Coney Barrett, a conservative with deep religious convictions, to fill the seat that was left vacant on the Supreme Court of Justice last week after the death of the liberal icon and judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
(In context: Amy Coney Barret would be the newest member of the US Supreme Court.)
48-year-old Barrett has yet to be confirmed by the Senate. But given the Republican majority in this Legislative Chamber, it is taken for granted that it will pass the test, and probably in record time.
Despite this, his selection has unleashed an intense controversy and promises to become another explosive issue of the electoral campaign in this country.
The reason is that in 2016 the Republicans blocked the nomination of a judge selected by then-President Barack Obama claiming that elections were just around the corner (8 months away) and therefore it was a decision that should be left to the winner of the contest.
(Also read: ‘I am very proud of Trump’s attack on me’: Petro)
Progressive US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has died at the age of 87.
On this occasion, and although there are less than 6 weeks left for the elections, Republicans chose to ignore a precedent that they set themselves.
The Constitution gives the President the right to nominate candidates for the Court when a vacancy arises, and the Senate the power to confirm it.
In the case of Obama, this party did not even want to consider Merrick Garland, the one chosen by the Democratic president.
According to a poll this week in the Washington Post, 57 percent of Americans believe the vacancy should be filled by the winner of the November election and its confirmation postponed until next year, when the new Congress has taken office.
(Also read: Trump puts Colombia in his re-election campaign with attack on Petro)
But the Republicans, everything indicates, plan to confirm Barrett before this November 3, the date scheduled for the presidential and legislative elections. And for various reasons.
The most important is that with this they would consolidate the conservative majority – which already exists in the court – and for several generations.
Currently, in the institution there are 5 judges of this tendency compared to 3 liberals.
Placing Barrett allows them to extend their power to 6 judges, a clear majority that guarantees a turn of the Court on issues that are considered vital for both parties. In particular abortion, gay marriages, minority discrimination, the future of immigrants, and health coverage.
In fact, Barrett’s arrival assures them that finally They can knock down Roe vs. Wade, the decision of this same Supreme Court in 1973 that made abortion legal in the United States.
Given that the positions in the Court are for life and that Trump has already appointed two other judges who are also very young, that power could be maintained for three decades or more.
Also, for Republicans it is an urgent matter, because they know that in these elections they could lose both the White House and the Senate and allows them to agitate an issue that can motivate the base to vote en masse.
But for Democrats this amounts to a declaration of war. And the idea is already taking place that if they win the presidency and regain the Chamber Alta, they could choose to expand the court to 11 or even 13 members. That is, give the new president the possibility of nominating two or four new judges to regain balance.
Barrett is the mother of seven and has made it clear in the past that her interpretation of the law is based on religion.
(In other news: Trump is booed during tribute to Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg)
Currently, a judge of a federal court of appeals, he said recently during a graduation ceremony at the Catholic University of Notre Dame that the duty of all lawyers is to help “Build the kingdom of God” on earth.
SERGIO GÓMEZ MASERI
TIME CORRESPONDENT
WASHINGTON
