Republicans can confirm a Supreme Court justice if Democrats take the Senate, but at what cost?

Filed 52m ago · Via The Conversation · The Buffoon Desk

THIS STORY IS SCORED

Song of the Volga Boatmen

Kevin MacLeod · incompetech.com · CC BY 4.0

Photo: via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

A Supreme Court scholar lays out a scenario: if Democrats retake the Senate in November but a conservative justice, likely Alito or Thomas, retires before the new Congress is sworn in on Jan. 3, 2027, Republicans could rush through a fourth Trump nominee in the lame-duck window. The piece notes the Senate would have roughly four and a half working weeks, comparable to the timeline that confirmed Amy Coney Barrett.

The analysis recalls Republicans blocking Merrick Garland's nomination in 2016 under the 'McConnell Rule,' then abandoning that rule to confirm Barrett days before the 2020 election. It concludes that forcing through another nominee this way would likely be seen as purely partisan and could fuel momentum for Supreme Court reform, including expansion.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.

✒ FROM THE EDITORIAL DESK

Everybody remembers the rule right up until it is inconvenient, and the Senate has proven that twice now with a straight face. If this scenario plays out, the history book will just add a third chapter to the same joke. The only consistent principle on display is that the rule applies to the other side's vacancy, never your own.

Source: Read the original at The Conversation → Scored: Song of the Volga Boatmen · Kevin MacLeod · CC BY 4.0