Trump appointing another far-right justice to the Supreme Court to replace the retiring Anthony Kennedy will be a catastrophe for democracy in this country.
Trump lost the popular vote by almost 3,000,000 votes in the 2016 election. The Supreme Court nominee chosen from the right-winglist that Trump has publicly posted will rule in ways that the vast majority of Americans oppose.
It is possible that Roe v. Wade will be overturned or severely limited, leading to abortion being banned in many states despite two thirds of Americans wanting Roe preserved. Even though 67% of Americans support gay marriage, that right may be rescinded as well. Political gerrymandering, which has allowed Republicans to win seats far in excess of their voting power, may become much worse. The Voting Rights Act could be overturned.
A majority of Americans now support Obamacare but an additional right-wing justice could end it. Yet another lawsuit attacking Obamacare has been filed. The Supreme Court has heard four Obamacare cases already, with the major one mostly upholding Obamacare by only a 5-4 vote in 2012.
Equally important, Trump should not be selecting a justice who may well have to rule on the investigations regarding Trump. There are a number of issues the Supreme Court may have to decide, including whether a sitting president can be compelled to testify before a grand jury (most legal experts believe so), whether a president can ever obstruct justice (Trump’s attorneys claim not), and whether a president can pardon himself (most legal experts say no) or others to protect himself from criminal investigation.
Unlike other federal judges and justices, Supreme Court Justices are not required to recuse themselves for possible conflicts of interest. One of Trump’s top prospects has said that presidents should not be subject to civil lawsuits, criminal investigations or even questions from a prosecutor while in office. A Trump appointee may be biased in Trump’s favor.
The Senate must approve all proposed federal judges and justices, but the Republicans have 51 votes out of 100 in the Senate. Republicans say that they intend to confirm Trump’s Supreme Court nominee before the elections in November. Trump campaigned for 17 months to persuade Kennedy to retire now, in order for Trump to nominate a replacement before the Democrats might end Republican control of the Senate. Earlier, Justice Kennedy’s son had been an executive at Deutsche Bank and had worked closely with Trump as Deutsche Bank became Trump’s most important lender.
Democratic Senators need to follow the time-tested Republican tactic of delaying confirmation of Trump’s nominee in the hope that, with unfolding events, it can be stopped. During the last year of President Obama’s presidency, Republican Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell refused to allow a vote on Obama’s moderate Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland. As it turned out, Trump was unexpectedly elected in 2016. That led to Trump’s successful nomination of Neil Gorsuch for that seat. Gorsuch, unbelievably, is further to the right than arch-conservative Justice Clarence Thomas.
Though the battle is uphill, it is possible that the Democrats will win a majority in the Senate this November. That would help, although the new Senate will not be seated until January.
Still, two Republican Senators, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, are opposed to Roe v. Wade overturned. Depending on who Trump nominates, that might be enough to stop confirmation, although the pressure on them to confirm will be immense.
Further, it now seems that Special Counsel Robert Mueller is accelerating his investigation and may provide his reports both on the Trump administration’s collusion with the Russians influencing the 2016 election and on Trump’s obstruction of justice in the next few months. If that occurs before a Senate vote is taken, possibly enough Republican Senators will refuse to vote for Trump’s nominee.
Finally, Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign chair, is going to trial July 24 in Alexandria, Virginia for bank fraud and tax crimes and September 17 in Washington, DC for false statements regarding foreign lobbying for a Russian-affiliated Ukrainian political party and money laundering. Information relating to Trump could well spill out, making it more difficult for Trump to have his nominee confirmed.
Democratic Senators must delay confirmation hearings by every means possible. The future of the country for generations is at stake.