Just before the 2020 presidential elections, Trump is all set to nominate the new Supreme Court Justice in the wake of Ginsburg’s death. The battle surrounding one of the most powerful vacancies in the Supreme court can prove to be highly influential, not only for the results of the upcoming elections but also for the justice system of the United States overall. While Trump will pick up a woman nominee, the Senate must approve the nomination to swear in the candidate to the office. Now, as Senator Romney of Utah confirmed that he would vote with the Republicans, it seems that the new justice will be in the office before the November elections, and Democrats will have a tough time stopping the nomination by one or two votes.
Why so much debate over a single Supreme Court seat?
Democrats suggested that Trump should not pick the nominee before the November election. Now the question arises why one seat of the court has so much importance attached to it? One of the major reasons for all the worry about the Supreme Court nomination is that these judges serve for their lifetime and have a major role in interpreting the laws and the judicial operations that could significantly impact people’s lives. Not only this, but these judges are also influential in reviewing the Congressional laws, with conservative judges mostly favoring the Republicans.
Just when the two major political parties of the country are coming face to face over the nomination, the 2020 presidential elections are taking the form of the 2016 presidential elections. Like 2016, when Antonin Scalia died in February, the Republicans started urging the Democrats to delay the next nomination until after the presidential election. However, Democrats nominated the new candidate before the elections. Now, when the situation is reversed, Democrats are urging to delay the process. However, it is pertinent to note here that unlike now, the death of Antonin Scalia was earlier in the election year, so the Democrats had enough time and reasons for the new nomination. Now, elections are in less than forty-five days, and Trump has only political reasons to nominate a new person.
How will the Supreme Court crisis change the direction of the upcoming election?
Before the death of Ruth Ginsburg, the major topics of debate for the 2020 elections were entirely different. The primary focus of both the presidential nominees was on the hot topics of economy, unemployment, health care, and the Corona crisis. Although the Supreme Court nominations were one of the topics of debate, it was not the primary one. Now, it seems that American politics is revolving around this topic. It has now become the core issue of the presidential campaigns, where both the candidates are investing their energies in having the upper hand in this nomination. This issue will also dominate in the Presidential debates that are going to start on September 29.
Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski have also confirmed that they will oppose Trump’s pick in the Senate, which means the Republicans majority has already shrunk. However, as of now, they have the upper hand as Senator Romney confirmed that he would vote in favor of the new pick. Now, it seems imminent that in a few days, this nomination will become a reality that can haunt the Democrats in the November election as well as in the early voting.
How will Trump’s pick threaten American liberalism and freedom?
While on the one hand, Democrats are hoping against the hope that they get enough numbers to negate the nominations, Republicans are all set to pass it. With Ginsburg in the court, the highest court of the country had a 5-4 conservative majority. However, in some cases, a relatively lesser conservative justice, John Roberts, sided with the liberals, especially in the cases involving abortion. So, the liberal justices had the hope of getting the majority in the court. With the death of the liberal justice Ruth Ginsberg, it is evident that Trump will pick a conservative nominee to influence the Supreme Court in times to come. It will disturb the balance in the Supreme Court, shifting it to a 6-3 majority in favor of the conservatives. Cuban American judge Barbara Lagoa and Amy Coney Barret have emerged as the potential nominees of Trump, and they both are conservatives in their approaches. With either of them in the highest office, the Supreme Court will lose its balance, and the Republican’s ideology will dominate in the court.
Another setback for Democrats in this regard will be the legality of Obamacare after the passing of Ruth Ginsburg. She was usually considered as an automatic vote in favor of Obamacare, but now, with another conservative in the house, it seems that Obamacare will be facing a tough time after the elections.
The court’s nomination has become a matter of utmost importance for both the political parties after the death of Ginsburg. It is clear that both parties want their own nominee in the highest court to have a systematic influence in the upcoming years. The tussle between the liberals and the conservatives in the Supreme Court will become less if Trump manages to nominate another conservative in the court. Not only this, but the American society will also see a trend opposing the liberal democracy and the fundamental human rights, including women’s and abortion rights, which are on the hit list of the conservatives.
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Eli is a Political Data Scientist with over thirty years of experience in Data Engineering, Analytics, and Digital Marketing. Eli uses his expertise to give the latest information and distinctive analysis on US Political News, US Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, and Racial Justice equipping readers with the inequivalent knowledge.