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The mourning for the death of the icon of justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg († 87) did not last long. Just hours after her death, a dispute broke out over her successor in Washington DC, which could have a decisive impact on the November presidential election.
President Donald Trump, 74, and his Republicans appear keen to appoint a new super judge to the Supreme Court as soon as possible. The opposition Democrats are furious and trying by all means to delay this endeavor. BLICK answers the biggest questions in the fight for the Supreme Court:
Why is the Supreme Court so important?
The Supreme Court is very important politically. It is not uncommon for the court to have the final say in current disputes. This is also the case with the major problems that reveal the social divide in the United States: abortion, immigration, and gun ownership.
Decisions are often of national importance and shape the interpretation of laws in lower courts for years. Additionally, judges are appointed for life. With the election of candidates, a president can influence the majority for a long time.
Are the political attitudes of the judges relevant?
Yes. If there is controversy, the attitudes of the lawyers also play a role. The chamber is highly political. There are a total of nine judges: currently five are considered conservative and four are liberal.
Has Donald Trump already been able to appoint a judge?
Even two of them! The President of the United States had a major impact on the Supreme Court during his tenure and now has a historic opportunity to install a third judge. He was able to install two conservatives in 2017 with Neil Gorsuch (52) and in 2018 with Brett Kavanaugh (55) and has put the United States Supreme Court on the right track for years.
Kavanaugh’s appointment in particular caused a stir. He faced rape allegations during his Senate confirmation process in the fall of 2018. However, a few heated weeks and an FBI investigation later, he was elected to the Supreme Court by the Republican-dominated Senate.
Why the controversy now?
Democrats are furious that Republicans blocked Barack Obama’s (59) candidate from being a judge in the spring of 2016 on the grounds that the then US president was only in office until November. “The American people should have a vote in selecting their next Supreme Court Justice, so this position should not be filled until we have a new president,” said Mitch McConnell, 78, the Republican Majority Leader. in the Senate, at the time. .
But now Mitch McConnell and company want to hurry up and appoint a new judge as soon as possible. The presidential elections will take place in just under two months. Therefore, the Democrats speak of double standards and hypocrisy. Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, 69, said Monday, referring to McConnell’s testimony more than four years ago: “A senator’s word must be worth something.”
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham (65) in particular is in a bind. He had promised several times in recent years that he would leave the appointment of a Supreme Court justice seat to the next president if a position became vacant in election year. “When a Republican president is elected in 2016 and there is a vacancy in the last year of his first term, you can say, ‘Lindsey Graham said we would leave the nomination to whoever it is for the next president.’ Graham added that his words could be used against him. But now everything is suddenly different! Graham sided with the Republican leadership and Donald Trump.
How many votes do Republicans need to appoint a judge?
A simple majority is enough. First, the candidate must pass the Senate Judiciary Committee. Then the whole camera. And right now, the Justice Committee, like the United States Senate, is under Republican control. If they vote in full, Republicans can bring Trump’s candidate to the Supreme Court without any democratic support.
In all, Democrats need four Republicans to avoid another Donald Trump super judge. Because: In the event of a 50:50 tie, the Vice President of the United States has a casting vote. Mike Pence (61) would then confirm his boss’s candidate.
Are there Republicans who will not vote with your party?
Yes. Lisa Murkowski (63), senator from Alaska, has already withdrawn her support for the president of the United States: she does not want to occupy the position on the Supreme Court shortly before the elections. Murkowski believes the same standard should apply as in 2016. And Susan Collins (67), a senator from Maine, does not want to participate. President Trump could continue with the nomination for now, but for “fairness to the American people,” the next president-elect should decide on the appointment of the post of judge for life, he said at the weekend. So there are still two apostates missing …
Who does Donald Trump want to nominate?
“It will be a woman,” Trump announced Saturday (local time) during an election campaign appearance in Fayetteville, North Carolina. According to US media reports, the US president wants to choose between two candidates. One of them is Barbara Lagoa (52), an experienced Florida judge with Cuban roots. The other is Amy Coney Barrett, 48, of New Orleans, Louisiana. Like Lagoa, Barrett is also on the Conservative side and has already been interviewed by the White House about Ginsburg’s possible successor.
When could the Senate showdown come?
Probably only after the presidential elections. Trump is moving forward and wants to nominate a candidate this week. But experts don’t think Republicans can pass a Senate vote before Nov. 3. But even after the presidential elections, the party still has two months. Because the new congress will not take office until January 3, 2021. The president’s inauguration is scheduled for January 20, 2021.
Will the dispute over the Ginsburg succession influence the US elections?
This is the big question America’s most respected political scientists are arguing about right now. On the one hand, the opinions of many Americans are made. The thesis is as follows: either you support Donald Trump or you support his challenger Joe Biden (77). Political scientists point out, however, that some conservatives who have turned their backs on Trump could now vote again for the president of the United States; consolidate the conservative majority in the Supreme Court.
Ultimately, the vacancy on the Supreme Court offers both parties the opportunity to put their respective electoral base in the right frame of mind for the vote. In the past, it was Republicans who went to the polls for this. At the moment, no one can reliably predict whether this will be the case again in 2020.
