WASHINGTON – The Democratic-led Senate is set to confirm President Joe Biden’s 200th federal judge on Wednesday. emphasizes a sharp contrast with an election opponent Republican former President Donald Trumpas they wish etchmonkey ce courts over the next four years.
It is unclear whether Biden will be able to retain the 234 judges secured during Trump’s presidency. But the winners of the presidency and Senate majority will have the power to shape the courts for the next few years, and these two men drastically different criteria in the selection of candidates.
The next White House holder could even choose one or more new Supreme Court justices, which could change or strengthen the existing 6-3 conservative majority. Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas will be 76 and conservative Justice Samuel Alito will be 74 when the winner is sworn in. The next oldest member of the court is liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who will be 70. Chief Justice John Roberts will be 70 years old. a week after taking the oath.
“Father Time moves on. There may be some vacancies for winners. And tomorrow we can all be hit by a car,” said Senator Lindsey Graham, candidate for the chairmanship of the Judiciary Committee if the Republicans win a majority in the Senate. “But four years of the presidency – one of the biggest rewards is the court. You may have some Republicans who are thinking, ‘Now is the time for me to go, I’ll have one of my philosophy instead,’ and vice versa.”
In addition to the selection of new justices, the two parties have divergent views on the Supreme Court: Democrats say they favor new rules, such as a mandatory code of ethics and recusal standards for justices, and a more active role in judicial oversight. Satisfied with the conservative majority they have built, Republicans are telegraphing a hands-off approach that would preserve the court’s current structure.
Graham said the electoral gains for the courts can be summed up this way: “If we win, we’re going to be more conservative. If they win, they are more liberal.”
Biden and Trump court records
Biden’s judges include many former civil lawyers, labor lawyers and public defenders, breaking from the mold of prosecutors and corporate lawyers that previous presidents relied on. More than 60% of Biden’s judges are women and more than 60% are non-white, the White House said. He said he appointed more black women to circuit courts than all previous presidents combined and more Hispanic and Asian American judges than any other president.
“For decades, Joe Biden has worked to protect and strengthen the integrity of our judicial system, and as president he has appointed the most diverse federal judges committed to the Constitution and the rule of law,” Biden Campaign spokesman Charles Lutwak said in an email.
“For four years, Trump has spent four years trying to reshape the courts to overturn lost elections and deny Americans fundamental rights. But if he gets four more years, it will be even worse: he will appoint people who share his extreme ideology. This election is nothing but a choice between democracy and dictatorship,” he added.
Trump had a different standard in selecting judges, favoring youth and conservative credentials. He chose a higher share of white and male candidates than Biden and a lower share of non-white Americans than his three predecessors. Pew Research Institute.
In 2022, Biden chose former public defender Ketanji Brown Jackson to become the first black woman on the Supreme Court; since then he has become a reliable member of the liberal bloc. It is unclear whether Biden will seek another vacancy before the November election. In four years, Trump has picked three members of the conservative bloc — all of whom were 55 or younger when they were nominated.
“I faced vile attacks from the radical left to confirm three major Supreme Court justices: Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett. They are great. Oh, they were so excited when I got three,” Trump said Saturday afternational Rifle Association convention.
In his speech, Trump recalled talking to one of his “people” when he was president, who told him about judicial nominees: “We like people in their 30s, so they’ve been there for 50 or 40 years.”
Trump said he remembers thinking, “Yeah, they’re absolutely right.”
Democrats focus on Supreme Court ethics rules
High on the list of priorities for Democrats is Supreme Court ethics legislation, which made headlines this week. upside down american flag flew in front of Alito’s house Days after the attack on the Capitol on January 6, when rioters waved the symbol to overturn the results of the 2020 election and keep Trump in power.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters on Tuesday, adding, “We have a lot of bills we want to address, but this is one of the most focused.” do” by Alito “and that casts some doubt on his impartiality.” (Alithe forld Fox News his wife hung the flag after quarreling with the neighbors.)
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., raised the flag and defended Alito when asked whether Alito should recuse himself from Trump-related cases.
“There are continuous attacks on the Supreme Court week after week. And so I’m not going to answer. We should leave the Supreme Court alone,” he told reporters on Tuesday. “Protect them from people who come into their neighborhoods and try to harm them.”
The progressive advocacy group Stand Up America wants to go even further, encouraging Democrats to vote for a major overhaul of the Supreme Court. The Democratic firm commissioned a national poll by Hart Research Associates, first shared with NBC News, that found overwhelming support for term limits for justices. Registered voters favored 18-year terms for current and future justices, 64% to 24%, which would allow each president to fill two vacancies in a four-year term.
When the poll asked voters how they would react if a congressional candidate supported an 18-year term limit, 45% said it would make them more likely to vote for them, while 20% said it would make them less likely. ” and 35% said it would have “no effect”.
(Hart Research Associates conducts the NBC News poll in conjunction with the GOP poll Public Opinion Strategies.)
A White House spokesman noted that Biden supports the Supreme Court’s ethics and transparency legislation, but did not comment on whether he favors term limits for justices.
Democrats, who are holding on to a fragile 51-vote Senate majority in a tough election cycle, say they worry about the Supreme Court moving further to the right if they can’t win the election.
“I don’t even want to think about it. I have enough sources of concern and sadness,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. “It’s a scary thought because obviously many of them could resign at any time to make way for the next wave of far-right MAGA judges – not really fair, just politicians in robes.”