A liberal Supreme Court Judge, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, age 87, passed away today due to pancreatic cancer. She was appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1993. U.S. Supreme Judges have no retirement age. They can serve as long as they want to.
President Trump was very
lucky. In his first term, he was able to
appoint two conservative judges, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. The current position is 5 conservative judges
and 4 liberal judges (with Ginsberg).
Here is the situation as of
today. Within a few hours of Ginsberg’s
death, President Trump is already considering about 5 people for replacing
her. Two of them are Indian Origin. Amul Thapar and Neomi Rao.
Here is a tricky situation. 2016 was a year for Presidential
election. President Obama, a few months
before the election, had an opportunity
to fill a vacancy. He nominated Merrick
Garland. The Republicans controlled the senate. Therefore, the leader of the Republican
Party in the Senate Mr. Mitch McConnell is the one to decide what business will be taken up by the Senate.
In 2016, he refused to take up this
matter for discussion. He said “voters should be able to express their views at the ballot box before
the Senate votes in the final year of a president's term.”
Now the same situation in 2020. 2 months before the election there is a
vacancy. Democrats are telling Mr. McConnell to go by the same rule he invoked
in 2016. But Mr. McConnell says he is
not going to abide by what he said in 2016. Today he said he will make sure
Trump’s nominee is confirmed while Trump is still the president.
If the Republicans can do that, It will be 6 to 3 in favor of
Conservatives in the U.S. Supreme Court. This will affect the American people
and everything in the United States for many many years.
PS: I have no idea why the last 2 paragraphs came in this fashion.
Waayyy too early for speculation.
ReplyDeleteRBG is an amazing woman who led an amazing life.
I guarantee that RBG's open seat will go to a woman (and it won't be Neomi Rao).
RIP RBG!
Regards,
DJT 45
Thanks for your comments Donald. It is a good idea to appoint a woman to replace the vacancy caused by a woman. But I hope it is not Ivanka Trump.
DeleteThis is the reason why one should not say things before considering what they'd do if they eventually get into the same position. KARMA CATCHES UP. :P
ReplyDeleteDestination Infinity
Thanks for your comments Rajesh. You said "karma catches up". It can be used both ways. Democrats wanted to rush thru their nomination before the 2016 presidential election and now they want to wait after the election.
DeleteThe latest I heard was that Trump will nominate a woman. Still she will surely be a conservative.
ReplyDeleteThe reason not to follow the 2016 precedent is also interesting -- the rule applies only when the President is not from the majority party in Senate! This time it's a Republican president, so it's fine!
This nomination combined with the outcome of November 3 will have a huge impact.
Thanks for your comments Pradeep. Your observation is correct. If the President and Senate majority are from the same party, they can go through with this. If the situation is reverse, the Democrats will do the same.
DeletePolitics is same everywhere.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments Renu. You are right.
DeleteThen how will legality reach the needy, if the presidents opt for their candidates to be placed in the legal chairs? Nice topic.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments Sarala. Every President wants to put their own candidate if they get a chance.
Delete