() – The next president could have the power to dramatically reshape the Supreme Court with one or more appointments, but for Kamala Harris, that might not be possible.
If Republicans regain control of the Senate, Speaker Harris would have to rely on the next Republican leader to schedule a vote on a Supreme Court nominee.
And in interviews with last week, the two leading candidates to replace Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell did not commit to putting a Harris Supreme Court nominee to a confirmation vote.
“It depends,” Texas Sen. John Cornyn said when asked whether a Harris Supreme Court nominee would get a vote in a Senate he would lead. “Obviously, they would have to go through the committee process, so it would depend on that. And then I think it would also depend on who the president nominates.”
Cornyn added: “If I’m in a position to make the decision, I’m not going to schedule a vote on a radical, unhinged candidate that I know she would love to nominate. But that would be my intention.”
John Thune, the Senate GOP leader and a Republican from South Dakota, had a similar refrain.
“We will do it when the time comes,” Thune said when asked last week whether he would allow a Harris nominee to be confirmed to the Supreme Court. “But, you know, it probably depends on who it is and that’s the advantage of having a Republican Senate.”
The comments are the latest sign of how the Supreme Court confirmation process has become an entirely partisan affair, a far cry from the days when presidents routinely had their nominations confirmed even by a Senate controlled by the opposite party. While each side blames the other for the collapse, McConnell’s decision in 2016 to vacate the late Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat for more than a year — effectively depriving then-President Barack Obama of a seat on the Supreme Court — continues to resonate. in the Senate.
The next leader of the Republican Party will be decided in the outgoing session of Congress, after the November elections. So far, only Cornyn and Thune, along with Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, are running to replace McConnell. Current Republican senators, along with the next generation of new members, will have voting rights. But while Thune and Cornyn are widely seen as the most likely to succeed McConnell, these races are difficult to predict because senators do not have to make public their votes, which are done by secret ballot.
Meanwhile, the GOP is the heavy favorite to win the Senate in November, as the map is tilted in its favor, and Democrats have to defend seats in three red states, along with seven other competitive seats. They only have two chances to win, Texas and Florida, and they are considered long shots.
This means that if Harris wins, she could very well face a Republican Senate that could hinder her agenda or force her to heed their demands.
And if Trump is president again, he could face limits of his own, as both Thune and Cornyn have promised not to destroy the Senate filibuster on any issue, so 60 votes (i.e. some Democratic votes) would still be needed to advance in most laws.
When asked how he would work with a Harris president, Cornyn responded soberly: “We would be the loyal opposition.”
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