Biden pledges to name progressives to the Supreme Court, suggesting he expects vacancies
https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/29/politics/biden-pledge-progressives-supreme-court-vacancies/index.html
Biden pledges to name progressives to the Supreme Court, suggesting he expects vacancies
https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/29/politics/biden-pledge-progressives-supreme-court-vacancies/index.html
31 comments
term limits, ethics and expand the court. Alito isn’t interested in giving up his tax free slush funds
President Joe Biden promised Black voters Wednesday that he would appoint progressives to the US Supreme Court if elected to a second term, suggesting he [expects vacancies on the high court](https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/29/politics/biden-pledge-progressives-supreme-court-vacancies/index.html) over the next four years.
“The next president, they’re going to be able to appoint a couple justices, and I’ll be damned — if in fact we’re able to change some of the justices when they retire and put in really progressive judges like we’ve always had, tell me that won’t change your life,” he said during a campaign rally in Philadelphia.
It was as explicit a warning as Biden could offer about the stakes of the upcoming election, and a clear reminder that some of the nine justices have entered their seventies.
Clarence Thomas is 75 and Samuel Alito is 74; both are conservative and appointed by Republican presidents. Sonia Sotomayor, a liberal who was nominated by President Barack Obama, turns 70 next month.
Retirements of any or all of those justices could provide a key opportunity for either Biden, who has named one justice to the Supreme Court, or his Republican rival Donald Trump, [who named three ](https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/29/politics/supreme-court-trump-what-matters/index.html)during his four-year term.
Just gotta hold onto that senate!
Not yet DB but soon.
John Oliver needs to extend and expand his offer to pay Justices to retire. Hell, I’d donate to that GoFundMe.
Joe is up against a republican Supreme Court Justice machine.
Trump appointed 3 judges to the court in his single 4 year term. Meanwhile, Biden has only appointed 1 in nearly the same length of time.
Republicans bought our Supreme Court, and they are using it to serve their own ends.
This is probably the correct way to frame this for the majority of people who pay no attention to politics 99% of the time. At the very least, they’ll see the headline and that’s all they take away from it. It’s similar to the approach Trump takes with everything: say you’ll do something because it sounds good, even if you wont or can’t do that thing.
Framing it as Clinton did, like “vote for me because if any vacancies occur and Trump is President, he’ll appoint Conservative people” is too abstract and long for most people to really care about. It requires too much explanation and isn’t definitive enough for people to take as seriously as they should.
The issue is if Clarence Thomas kicks off, because hell came calling, the conservative argument will be that he needs to be replaced with the most unscrupulous right-wing low-life possible. It will be Stephen Miller or worse.
how about one that recognizes the consequences of bad decisions and there are bad actors everywhere?
Depending on how the Supreme Court rules on Trump’s immunity claim, he might be fully within his right to just dispatch SEAL Team Six and make a couple vacancies of his own
Have to hold senate.
But let’s be honest, Alito and Thomas will not retire.
They will serve til they die.
I don’t know who he expects to retire
Well, if they rule that a president has absolute immunity, I imagine 6 slots can open up real quick.
Even if he has to make them /s
Really though, the immunity case the court is looking at for Trump is just nuts. I could make up any number of excuses for doing illegal things under this idea it is within the course of my job as President. The most obvious is that X person (whomever they may be and whatever position they may hold) was a clear threat to the United States and Democracy, so I “illuminated” them.
No one can be above the law, and this hold MOST true for the President.
He needs to do it now. There’s a very real chance Trump wins and then it’s game over forever. It’ll be too late then.
Pack the court.
Alito is an abscess
THIS is why, no matter your feelings on Biden, you MUST VOTE BLUE
If supreme court gives presidents immunity well……
This is probably the correct framing, and Biden would do well to direct attention away from himself as far as the election is concerned. He needs to avoid making the election a referendum on himself and instead demonstrate what is at stake.
Ultimately, this works very well towards that.
Seems to me Obama would have nominated acceptable judges, had he been allowed to do so. Who knows if Biden will be given a chance
Where’s that Supreme Court ruling that presidents can assassinate rivals and get away with it?
Let’s make sure those vacancies appear toute suite!
I’m curious who it might be. Alito and Thomas will absolutely die before stepping down. Is anyone else old enough to assume they won’t make 4 years? Roberts is up there and might consider retirement since conservatives still have a majority and he isn’t on the same level as the others in his partisanship
Everyone knows that if trump becomes president, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito will retire so trump can nominate a conservative fetuses to be on the court in their place.
How about expand the damn court and take it away from the cheating ruling minority?
If Biden wins reelection, he can add SC justices. According to the WH website,
“The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the land and the only part of the federal judiciary specifically required by the Constitution.
The Constitution does not stipulate the number of Supreme Court Justices; the number is set instead by Congress. There have been as few as six, but since 1869 there have been nine Justices, including one Chief Justice. All Justices are nominated by the President, confirmed by the Senate, and hold their offices under life tenure. Since Justices do not have to run or campaign for re-election, they are thought to be insulated from political pressure when deciding cases. Justices may remain in office until they resign, pass away, or are impeached and convicted by Congress.”
He needs to replace Sotomayor this term while we still hold the Senate. She’s 69 with type 1 diabetes. We really need a progressive 30 year old on the bench for a life-long appointment.
I’m not hopeful that there will be vacancies anytime soon. The conservative MAGA justices will live to be ancient. They’re like evil cockroaches. Evil people tend to thrive for a very very long time.
Sotomayor will take the same route that RBG did, so surprise there.
This. This is sop big. People underestimated this so fucking much in 2016, and at the moment, it is bringing us to the cusp of disaster. If you fucking hate Biden, he’s 4 years. SCOTUS is a lifetime appointment, and the ones Trump appoints are all in on Project 2025.
Regular Brandon: “I’m be *expecting* some vacancies on the Supreme Court.”
Dark Brandon: “I’ll be *making* some vacancies on the Supreme Court.”