Skip to main content

The Race To Fill RBG's Seat


Republicans haven't paused to mourn the loss of the most iconic figure in the US judicial system, and appear to be gearing up to fill the seat of Ruth Bader Ginsburg before November's election. Come November we may see Democrats take control of all three pillars of American Democracy, the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the Presidency.

And while the presidency lasts four years, there is no term limit for members of the US Supreme Court, with a vacancy only arising from a retirement or a death in office. So whoever is selected to replace RBG on the Supreme Court is likely to serve fifteen to twenty years on the role.

In order to be selected to sit on the SC, a person has to be nominated by the President and approved by the Senate, both of which are currently held by Republicans. But that may not be the case after November, with there being a fair chance of Dems winning both races. 

Justice Ginsburg's passing has changed the dynamic of the SC, with it now being evenly split between Liberals and Conservatives, 4-4, in the nine seat court. Trump is no doubt eager to fill the vacancy before his term ends, and transform the SC into a conservative body for the forseeable future, with a conservative advantage of 5-4.

Whether this comes to pass before November remains to be seen, but has the potential to affect the USA more than the Presidential Elections. A Conservative SC could prevent the Democrats from making reforms on major social issues such as Gun Control, which is based on the SC's interpretation of the Second Amendment, and could also reverse previous decisions on Abortion and Same Sex Marriage, if a challenge is brought before them.

But Trump is still the President of the USA, and it is well within his remit to nominate a replacement justice, no matter how close he is to the end of his term. Though he may be hesitant himself to nominate a new person, after the controversy that was caused when he nominated Brett Kavanaugh. It would certainly become the main talking point of the Election and whether that would work in Trump's or Biden's favour would remain to be seen. The ball is now in Trump's court as to whether or not he wants to nominate a replacement before the end of his term.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What's The Beef With Beef ?

The Irish Beef Industry has been going through turbulent times recently, most notably because of the proposed Mercosur deal and the prices farmers receive for their cattle. We haven't even reached Brexit yet, and are still weeks out from the latest withdrawal deadline, and beef farmers are at their wits end. But how has it got to this and can farmers cope if there is a no-deal Brexit? Farmers' incomes are under threat, not just because of the reasons outlined above, but also because of the threat to grants which keep small and medium farms in business. The recent EU elections have seen the status quo remain in the European Parliament, with parties of the right keeping their large dominance of the union. There has been some debate surrounding the EU's agricultural plan over the course of the previous five year parliament, particularly regarding the EU's farm subsidy. Now that the elections are over, the EU government could proceed with plans which could see a standard ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Biden Allowed Trump To Pay So Little Taxes

Joe Biden has come out with an unsurprising attack on Donald Trump for paying just $750 in Federal Income Tax, with reports that Trump paid virtually no FIT for the 10-15 years prior, due to bad business affairs. And while it is an unfair system that sees Trump and other millionaires pay so little tax, it must be pointed out that in 2016 Joe Biden was the Vice President of the USA. He has been the VP since 2008, which is possibly the last time Trump paid FIT, though more details will surely come out over the coming weeks. Joe Biden has spent 8 years as VP, and decades as a Senator, overseeing the various tax loopholes that allow millionaires and billionaires to get away without paying their fair share of taxes. Yet here he is today saying that millionaires and billionaires need to pay their fair share of taxes. Joe has had ample time to ensure that the super-wealthy pay "their fair share", but has decided to wait until little over a month before the Pr...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sinn Féin Pre-Election Analysis

  Operating off the recent in-depth RedC poll, while taking other recent polls into account, one thing is certain, Sinn Féin will have a time-machine on the top of their list to Santa if the election isn’t called before Christmas. It seems like it was only yesterday when the party was polling in the mid-30s, reaching a high of 36%, and seemed like a government in waiting if they managed to get some smaller parties and independents on board. What must have been a scramble for candidates to even get within a whiff of a majority, now some tough decisions will have to be made as to whether they will even run a second candidate in some constituencies. Keep in mind that in some constituencies where the polled well in 2020, and were polling very well in polls, such as Donegal, Cavan-Monaghan, and Louth, there were rumours of a third candidate being added in the 5-seater constituencies where they were polling close to 50% of the vote. When once there were talks of 60+ seats, now they...
Post a Comment
Read more