Biden pledges to name progressives to the Supreme Court, suggesting he expects vacancies

[In It to Win It]

Biden pledges to name progressives to the Supreme Court, suggesting he expects vacancies

President Joe Biden promised Black voters Wednesday that he would appoint progressives to the US Supreme Court if elected to a second term, suggesting he expects vacancies on the high court over the next four years.

“The next president, they’re going to be able to appoint a couple justices, and I’ll be damned — if in fact we’re able to change some of the justices when they retire and put in really progressive judges like we’ve always had, tell me that won’t change your life,” he said during a campaign rally in Philadelphia.

It was as explicit a warning as Biden could offer about the stakes of the upcoming election, and a clear reminder that some of the nine justices have entered their seventies.

Clarence Thomas is 75 and Samuel Alito is 74; both are conservative and appointed by Republican presidents. Sonia Sotomayor, a liberal who was nominated by President Barack Obama, turns 70 next month.

Retirements of any or all of those justices could provide a key opportunity for either Biden, who has named one justice to the Supreme Court, or his Republican rival Donald Trump, who named three during his four-year term.

[bucolic_frolic]

1. Is the sedition-flag waver considered a part of the government?

He's kind of like an atheist at a monastery.

[BootinUp]

2. You can take that to the bank. Nt

[DJ Synikus Makisimus]

3. While I look forward to the funerals and/or resignations ...

(assuming they were for/of the GOP nominees), I don't see it happening. Also, "progressive" is becoming one of those eroding terms like "middle class" that means all things to all people. Many people, even on this site, confuse "liberal" with "progressive." I'd be more comfortable if he'd advocate for court expansion and then appoint a socialist or five.

[FBaggins]

28. Neither is likely - but the pitch is the same

There isn’t much chance that either of the septuagenarians on the right will retire with a second Biden term - and it would be poor strategy for an octogenarian to hint that either one will die in the next four years. Nor does it seem likely that the next senate majority will back a “progressive” nomination to replace either of those two.

But a second Trump term (which would almost necessarily bring a red senate with it) would likely see both of them retiring.

It isn’t that he could find anyone much further to the right to replace them - but anyone close (but in their 40s) would cement the current court majority for decades.

[Irish_Dem]

4. What does Biden know? And will McConnell block him?

Maybe Biden knows something we don't know about vacancies?

And will the Turtle play his old tricks?

[ITAL]

7. It wouldn't be McConnell

It'd be whoever replaces hm as head of the GOP in the Senate. He is stepping down as Minority Leader.

[Irish_Dem]

11. I'm sure whichever MAGA who replaces McConnell won't be much better.

[ITAL]

12. I suspect the replacement will be worse

[Irish_Dem]

13. Jebus God. Boggles the mind.

[Tribetime]

5. I wish he would have been able to expand it

But with cinema and mansion sabotage and everything we've got screwed

[Mountainguy]

6. Sotomayor should consider retiring

Democrats control the Senate and the Presidency and she's 70 years old. There's no guarantee that both will be true after the election or at whatever point her seat would open otherwise. We shouldn't repeat the mistake RBG made.

[Celerity]

15. I completely agree, but we have a huge potential problem.

Early voing for POTUS starts in multiple states in September, some as early as 9/20/2024 (MN, SD, VA). IL and ND start on 9/26/2024.

https://ballotpedia.org/Early_voting_dates,_2024

It will be damn near impossible to get a replacement confirmed before June 20, 2024, and there will be zero chance Manchin and perhaps Sinema (and maybe even other Dems) will allow a new Justice to be confirmed within 90 days of POTUS voting starting (ie any day after June 20, 2024).

We waited too long.

[AZ8theist]

21. That's funny....

It only took the previous regime what, 8 days?? to install a Neo Nazi Christian Fundy on the court.

I know we won't do it. Because Dems ALWAYS bring a butter knife to a gun fight.

[Celerity]

24. 38 days from the opening via RBG'S death to final confirmation of ACB.

See this for more detail:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=18988670

[LostOne4Ever]

22. Why would they object?

They have their problems but they have both been on board with regards to judicial appointments. Further, since it would be a progressive replacing a progressive it wouldn’t actually change the courts ideological lean and iirc neither senator are likely to see another term so they have nothing to lose.

I just don’t see them causing problems for replacing Sotomayor.

[Celerity]

23. Manchin would not back Supreme Court confirmation right before 2024 election

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/manchin-would-not-back-supreme-court-confirmation-right-before-2024-election-2022-02-15/

February 15, 2022

WASHINGTON, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Democratic U.S. Senator Joe Manchin said on Monday he would not support a Senate vote to confirm President Joe Biden's pick for a Supreme Court seat if a vacancy opened up right before the 2024 presidential election.

Manchin, who often clashes with his own party, told reporters his view was consistent with his view when Republican President Donald Trump nominated Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court a little over a month before the 2020 presidential election.

Manchin voted against Barrett's confirmation, though he said he had supported her nominations for a previous post. He added it would be "hypocritical" for him to support a similar move by Biden.

Manchin has emerged as a key vote in the evenly divided Senate, willing to buck Biden and the Democratic party by opposing nominees and legislation, including Biden's priority social spending bill.

snip

ACB was a massive rush job and it still took almost 6 weeks to get her named and confirmed. If Sotomayor steps down, say in early July, and it takes 6 weeks or so (and dog knows what delay shit McTurtle will pull out of the shell as a final parting Minority Leader gift) for a vote, you are now within a little over a month of POTUS early voting starting. Good luck with Old Coal.

Plus:

Joe Manchin says he will vote against nominees if they don’t have bipartisan support

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2024/03/21/politics/joe-manchin-nominees-bipartisan-support

March 21, 2024

Sen. Joe Manchin, a critical swing vote in the closely divided Senate, said Wednesday that from now on, he will only vote to confirm nominees who have the support of at least one Republican senator.

“I’m going to be very honest with everybody, if my Democratic colleagues and friends can’t get one Republican vote, don’t count on me. You can’t make it bipartisan, don’t count on me,” said the West Virginia Democrat who has announced his retirement that will begin in January 2025. “I’m not leaving this place unless I can practice what I preach and I’m preaching, basically bipartisanship,” he said. “This is my little way of doing it.”

Manchin’s comments came in response to questions from CNN about President Joe Biden’s nominee for the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, Adeel Mangi, who would be the first Muslin-American on a federal appeals court. Many Republicans are vehemently opposed to him and accuse him having extreme views and part of a group they call antisemitic. Top Democrats strongly defend him and are pressing for a floor vote, after he was narrowly approved in the Senate Judiciary Committee in January, although they acknowledge not knowing if they have the votes to confirm him.

On Thursday, Manchin confirmed he would vote against Mangi.

snip

No Rethug will vote for a SCOTUS nominee who is remotely as liberal as Sotomayor, and, moving forward, I absolutely doubt we will ever again see a Rethug-controlled Senate confirm a Dem POTUS's SCOTUS nomination. Hell, they will not even get a floor vote.

The only way we will ever see a Rethug Senate confirm a Dem SCOTUS nominee again is if a Dem POTUS lets the Federalist Society or even more RW fascist groups pick the Dem nominee.

I have said that for years now.

And that is one of my less severe predictions in terms of where the US is headed overall in terms of maintaining the Union of the States.

Here is but one example:

A RW SCOTUS decaring national foetal personhood (thus banning almost all abortion nationwide) will likely rent asunder the Union or at least VASTLY increase that likelihood.

Most of the Blue States will never obey, and if a POTUS (of either Party, but more likely a Rethug) tries to compel them by force and other means, Blue State secession movements will roar to life, along with kinetic violence. Chaos ensues.

IF a POTUS doesn't try to enforce the ruling, the Red States will start to ignore the federal laws THEY hate and point to the Blue States' refusals as justification. Chaos ensues.

I truly fear the Rubicon will soon be crossed, even if/when Trump loses.

Over the past 7,000 years of human civilisation, empires have lasted, on average, for 250 years or so.

The US, in its current Constitutional form, turns 250 years old on March 4th, 2039.

On the current course, I truly, truly fear we do not make it to that Sestercentennial.

[LostOne4Ever]

25. I hope your predictions don't come to pass

I think that despite everything else Roberts does not want his court to be the one that starts a new civil war and he will probably avoid that.

I also have a feeling that Right would also struggle to balance their desire for Fetal personhood with their desire to end birthright citizenship and that could help prevent that from happening.

Fortunately, empires sometimes last longer than average. Japan has been around since the 6th century BCE and France since 800’s CE.

This isn’t to say you might not be right. I fear situations like that. But the US has walked this tight rope with the brink before (Cuban Missile Crisis) and managed to survive. In the end what will be will be.

As for Manchin, I guess it depends on Senators like Murkowski and what he considers close to the Election. He supported Merrick Garland before:

https://www.manchin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2016/03/16/manchin-statement-on-presidents-supreme-court-nominee

So maybe he might consider a Summer time replacement during it Recess.

[Celerity]

26. I hope I am wrong as well. I just do not see any moderating forces of sufficient depth and strength to bring

the death cult RW back into a sufficient state of socio-cultural, socio-poltical homeostasis that is needed to change the arc and maintain the Union as the future grinds into the present.

The other parts of the polycrisis will only serve to ramp up the entropy I fear.

[lpbk2713]

8. I hope the opportunity presents itself.

And once it does it should be a priority to get more balance in the USSC.

[DemocratInPa]

9. Are we going to control the Senate after this year?

I have seen alot of experts say we will win the House, but lose the Senate..

We are losing Manchin seat, and nobody knows for sure how Ohio and Montana will pan out.

[Elessar Zappa]

16. It's gonna be tough but we can keep it.

[LiberalFighter]

10. I am encouraging Alito, Thomas, and Roberts to suffer a major unrecoverable medical condition

[Turbineguy]

14. It's about time some of them

should be taken to lunch for a quiet word.

[et tu]

17. roevember is coming

and d45 is going down. i am very optimistic!

[3825-87867]

18. All Biden has to do is

state that since he has immunity, then state he will have two justices removed as per immunity authority.
Then watch how fast the Supine Court rules a president is not immune!

[Joinfortmill]

19. Very interesting...

There's retirement and there's 'you might want to retire' retirement, if you know what I mean, sorta like Justice Kennedy.

[Takket]

20. there is no way in hell either of them will step down.....

that being said, Biden is very much correct to keep reminding people that the president chooses the judges, something i honestly think most Americans don't know

[no_hypocrisy]

27. It depends if Biden is re-elected and

the Senate has a democratic Leader.

I have a feeling that future republican Leaders will hold up hearings for SCOTUS nominees like McConnell, even if it's six months into an administration.