Schumer says Senate Democrats will not allow a "right-winger" on the Supreme Court
Democrats will hold at least 54 Senate seats from January, and Republicans want to confirm as many of Trump's pending judicial nominees as possible before then.
Democrats won control of the in Tuesday's elections and also regained . They will hold at least 54 of the Senate's 100 seats, and the Mississippi and Alaska results still being tallied could raise that to 56. Control of the Senate changes hands when the new begins Jan. 3.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, likely the next majority leader, told The Associated Press that Democrats will not allow a "right-winger" on the . He said they are "not going to allow any crappy nominees" elsewhere in the federal judiciary or in Trump's Cabinet. Asked whether he would keep a Supreme Court seat vacant past the next presidential election, he declined to say specifically.
The White House said Thursday, through spokeswoman Lauren Bis, that Trump "will never let them pack the Supreme Court." Justices Samuel Alito, 76, and Clarence Thomas, 78, have not publicly indicated an imminent retirement. A senior Senate aide said Republicans will try to confirm as many pending judicial nominees as possible in the lame-duck session.
Three nominees have cleared the Judiciary Committee and await floor votes. A White House official said the administration expects every judicial nominee now before the Senate to be confirmed by year's end.
- at least 54Senate seats Democrats will hold next yearThe Boston Globe
- as many as 56possible Democratic Senate seats, depending on Mississippi and AlaskaThe Boston Globe
- December 18target adjournment date of the lame-duck session, per NewsweekNewsweek
Three sides of the story
8 news outlets reported this · Little coverage from conservative outlets
Tap a color or swipe sideways to switch sides.
Liberal4 outlets
Democrats gain power to block Trump's judges
The Boston Globe runs the Associated Press report, which opens on Trump's conservative Supreme Court transformation meeting an "emboldened Democratic-led Senate." It quotes Schumer saying "we're not going to allow a right-winger on the court," gives the White House reply from spokeswoman Lauren Bis, and adds Dale Carpenter, a Southern Methodist University law professor, on the pressure justices would face if they retired now. HuffPost, in "Trump's Makeover Of The Courts Is Over," says Trump can no longer count on Republicans to "rubber-stamp" his nominees.
It quotes Josh Orton of the progressive group Demand Justice, who urges Democrats to end "faux bipartisan insider horse-trading," and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, poised to chair the Judiciary Committee, who calls for "a hard reset on the nominations process." It also lists procedural tactics Democrats could use to slow nominees. NPR says Democrats will run federal judicial appointments from Jan. 3 and may keep doing so until at least 2030.
NBC News carries a video segment on how Democratic control affects judicial appointees.
- The Boston Globe: Republicans rammed through Supreme Court nominees. Now Democrats will have the votes to stop them.
- HuffPost: Trump's MAGA Makeover Of The Courts Is Over
- NPR: How the new Senate majority shifts control over the federal judiciary
- NBC News: How Democratic control in Congress affects the future of judicial appointees
Center3 outlets
Republicans' narrow lame-duck window for judicial confirmations
Newsweek leads with Senate Republicans entering a packed lame-duck session, where confirming Trump's remaining judicial nominees is "one of their biggest priorities." It names the three nominees who cleared the Judiciary Committee, Anna St. John, Daniel Desmond Domenico and Gregory Carl Cook. It also lays out the calendar, with a Thanksgiving recess Nov. 23 to 27 and a Dec. 18 target adjournment.
It quotes a White House official who expects all pending nominees to be confirmed by year's end, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis urging the Senate to "pull all-nighters." The Seattle Times runs the same Associated Press wire report as the Boston Globe. It opens on Trump facing an "emboldened Democratic-led Senate" and carries Schumer's pledge and the White House reply.
A Reason opinion piece argues there is "less than zero chance" the new Senate approves a Trump Supreme Court nominee, and asks whether Alito's career will end like Ruth Bader Ginsburg's.
Conservative1 outlet
Trump's Supreme Court hopes fade with Senate loss
The Washington Times, under the headline "Trump's Supreme Court shot collides with Thanksgiving, Christmas and a Democratic Senate," reports that Republicans are coming to accept that Trump will not get a new Supreme Court justice confirmed during the rest of his time in office. It links this to Democrats being poised to hold a significant Senate majority next year.
- The Washington Times: Trump's Supreme Court shot collides with Thanksgiving, Christmas and a Democratic Senate
Which side made the stronger case?
We will email you when the story continues. At most one email a day.
All sources: 8 articles from 8 outlets
Liberal (4)
- HuffPost: Trump's MAGA Makeover Of The Courts Is Over
- NBC News: How Democratic control in Congress affects the future of judicial appointees
- NPR: How the new Senate majority shifts control over the federal judiciary
- The Boston Globe: Republicans rammed through Supreme Court nominees. Now Democrats will have the votes to stop them.
Center (3)
- Newsweek: Trump Judges Most Likely to Be Confirmed Before New Senate Takes Over
- Reason: New Democratic Senate Spells Doom for Trump's Judicial Nominees
- The Seattle Times: Republicans rammed through Supreme Court nominees. Now Democrats will have the votes to stop them
Conservative (1)
- The Washington Times: Trump's Supreme Court shot collides with Thanksgiving, Christmas and a Democratic Senate
The evening briefing by email
One email a day, around 8:30 p.m. New York time: the seven main stories, each with its three sides, and the blind spot of the day. Unsubscribe with one tap.
A Telegram channel is coming soon.