President Donald Trump could make a last-minute play to reshape the Supreme Court before Democrats officially take control of the Senate following their victory on Election Night.
Justice Samuel Alito may be right in the crosshairs of a pressure campaign, according to a prominent columnist.
Tuesday’s midterm elections handed Democrats control of both the House and the Senate in a historic wipeout that flipped several red states. Trump is facing a lame-duck era for his last two years, and the clock is set for when the new Congress is sworn in come January. That leaves Trump with a Republican majority for roughly nine more weeks, The Bulwark’s Jonathan V. Last wrote in a Wednesday column.
Last believes Trump will use that window to push through one more seat on the high court.
“I will be shocked if he doesn’t lean on Sam Alito to retire,” Last wrote.
He argued Republicans would then try to rush a replacement through the Senate before Democrats can block it.
Alito, 76, said in August that he plans to stay on the court until the end of the current term, which is till June next year
Alito, appointed by President George W. Bush in 2006, has been one of the more reliably conservative votes. However, replacing him with a younger conservative will likely maintain their majority on the court for decades, but the clock is ticking before the Democrats put a halt to the proposed plan.
Republicans have shown they can move fast when a seat is on the line. In 2020, the GOP-controlled Senate confirmed Justice Amy Coney Barrett roughly a month after Trump nominated her, just days before the presidential election, and the Democrats were powerless to stop it.
Last, he also sounded the alarm about the Iran war, which could occupy the minds of Trump and his allies as the Alito clock ticks. “But before that happens, he’s going to make some choices about his war in Iran. Will he escalate? Will he pull the plug?” he wrote.
The Iran war was one of the top issues that led to a GOP wipeout, but with nothing left to lose, it is unclear how Trump will proceed; reporting indicates that he plans to continue with military strikes.
Last argued that this moment looks nothing like the 2006 or 2014 midterms, when a conventional president took the hit, learned from it and adjusted course to keep the political system steady.
Trump has already teased a fight with Democrats, flexing his veto powers as a negotiating tool.
Whether Trump moves to force Alito out is yet to be seen, but it is more likely than not. When Alito said he was considering stepping down, a delighted Trump wrote “A great man!!!” on Truth Social.