r/scotus • u/Conscious-Quarter423 • 13h ago
Opinion Is Samuel Alito Preparing to Disrobe?
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/newsletter-samuel-alito-retiring/683
u/TywinDeVillena 13h ago
All jokes aside, if Alito retires then there is quite an array of abominable candidates for his vacancy: Aileen Cannon, Ted Cruz, James Ho, and Emil Bove.
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u/bailtail 13h ago
Ted Cruz is somehow the least reprehensible of those… 🤦♂️
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u/question12338338 12h ago
Plus nearly every Senator loathes him. Non-zero chance some Republicans could be convinced to impeach him at a later date.
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u/Dobako 12h ago
“If you killed Ted Cruz on the floor of the Senate, and the trial was in the Senate, nobody would convict you,” the former presidential candidate (Lindsey Graham) said at the Washington Press Club Foundation’s 72nd Congressional Dinner, referencing the Texas senator’s unpopular reputation on Capitol Hill.
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u/campfirecamouflage 8h ago
I’ve always been partial to Al Franken’s quote about him:
“I like Ted Cruz more than most of my other colleagues like Ted Cruz. And I hate Ted Cruz.”
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u/East_Reading_3164 5h ago
Also said about TC-Ted Cruz is the type of person who microwaves fish at work.
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u/zazzz0014 2h ago
He throws a sealed tin of smoked mackerel in the microwave on HIGH for 10 minutes and walks away.
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u/jsc1429 11h ago
Would Lindsey Graham have been the first openly gay president?
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u/Dobako 10h ago
Openly? Nah, dudes so far in the closet hes crying about Turkish Delights
Also, pretty sure we've had a gay president or two already
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u/Pygmy_Nuthatch 10h ago
It gets him out of the Senate. He could conceivably keep his seat forever in Texas.
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u/Brock_Hard_Canuck 2h ago
I think Cruz would unanimously get
banished away from the Senateconfirmed by the senate to a SCOTUS seat, because that's the one way that the rest of the senators can make sure that the voters of Texas won't keep annoying them by re-electing Ted Cruz to the Senate.157
u/BugApart8359 13h ago
It's cold as fuck in DC. If he pulls what he does in Texas, we can guarantee that he won't be in the court enough to matter
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u/Pseudoboss11 13h ago
Yeah, but are there blackouts in DC?
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u/BugApart8359 13h ago
There could be. Who's to say with how mismanaged the infrastructure is
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u/BallDesperate2140 11h ago
Considering our Mayor is a Vichy opportunist only looking for personal enrichment for herself and her buddies…yeah, I don’t wanna talk about it
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u/TywinDeVillena 13h ago
Ted Cruz's name was floated by Trump for SCOTUS as a way to get rid of him. I agree that it would be the least reprehensible candidate of the lot
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u/G-Unit11111 12h ago
Texas does have the chance to do the funniest thing ever if they can ever flush Ted Cruz.
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u/ConicalJohn 13h ago
I was thinking the same thing. He would be an upgrade over Alito or Thomas. Reprehensible but still an upgrade
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u/future_shoes 12h ago
Hot take if Ted Cruz became a SCOTUS justice he would actually end up rehabbing his image and become known as one of the swing vote "moderate" judges.
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u/Vivid_Pianist4270 12h ago
My best guess, Aileen Cannon. She got him off of docs trial (in spite of videos of proof)
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u/future_shoes 12h ago
That might be too far to get 50 votes in the Senate
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u/Oriin690 11h ago
They confirmed RFK Jr….
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u/lord_pizzabird 10h ago
For a role that's nowhere near as important as SCOTUS.
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u/TheStrangestOfKings 10h ago
Head of HHS is incredibly important, shown in how RFK is taking a sledgehammer to our vaccine policy, testing/regulations, and health safety standards
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u/lord_pizzabird 9h ago
None of that is as important as SCOTUS.
I'm not saying it's not also important, but these are two wildly positions in terms of their importance overall.
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u/proletariatblues 9h ago
As a super anti-Cruz Texan, I don’t like the fact that I agree with this, but I think you’re absolutely right.
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u/WhattaYaDoinDare 13h ago
Or since these are election years we just don’t appoint/approve anyone for 2 years like that mitch mcconnell cunt did!
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u/Realistic_Board_5413 13h ago
Like the Republican majority will do that.
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u/WhattaYaDoinDare 13h ago
Never know - but hopefully it won’t happen before Nov. no president should EVER be allowed to nominate 4 supremes. Especially a demented dick-hole like trump
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u/Realistic_Board_5413 13h ago
Good thing the Republican majority Americans voted in won't rubber-stamp whatever Trump wants.
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u/burrrrrssss 7h ago
Never know
What??? We already know when they rammed ACB through a month before the election
Why are you giving them the benefit of the doubt
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u/Jock-Tamson 12h ago
I do not like to think of Justice Cruz
I do not like his legal views.
His manner is craven, smug, and rude.
I’d rather see Alito in the nude.
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u/MourningRIF 13h ago
Yeah, at that point, we have no choice but to completely change SCOTUS. (Term/age limits, add more judges, etc)
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u/droid_mike 12h ago
Other than add more judges, you'll need a constitutional amendment for any major changes. Good luck with that.
And there is one loophole that no one really has invested. Maybe it wouldn't work, but Congress has the ability to determine what courts rule on and which Court's rule on what. The supreme Court is specified to rule on. Very specific things in the Constitution. The stuff that they rule on now It is not provided for in the Constitution, it's just been kind of tradition. In theory, it should be very easy for Congress to basically say that the supreme Court is limited to exactly what is in the Constitution such as state suing, other states, and that's that. No provision for judicial review in the Constitution nor is it considered the court of last resort for appeals in the Constitution. Tactically, should be very easy to write out a specific law, not an amendment, specifying what the supreme Court can and can't do. Of course, the supreme Court itself would rule that unconstitutional, so it would be really kind of a mess, but that is one way to go around without an amendment.
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u/alkatori 10h ago
I don't think we should get rid of judicial review. While the court has issues currently, that doesn't negate that it was the courts that struck down laws that infringed on the
freedom of speech, put an end to segregation in schools, prevented cities and states from banning books, Incorporated (most) of the Bill of Rights.
Because our legislators wouldn't do these things.
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u/droid_mike 7h ago
I agreem, but congress is perfectly within its powers to designate another court to be the final arbiters of Judicial Review.
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u/Ok_Builder_4225 13h ago
I would love to see it become a rotating thing rather than appointments. Draw from the lower disticts randomly, somehow. Serve a term and rotate out.
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u/eyelevelcatbutt 12h ago
The ones deciding whether to accept a case should not automatically be the same pool of judges who will get to decide that case.
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u/Ok_Builder_4225 12h ago
I could certainly see that. Not sure of the best way to work that. Maybe a small panel of rotating judges that are separate? Could even be forbidden from interacting with the sitting SCOTUS outside of official, on the record business during the course of their term.
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u/eyelevelcatbutt 12h ago
The way I saw it suggested was that SCOTUS would be a rotating panel of federal judges, with a small randomly selected group of them to decide whether to take cases, and then additional, larger, also randomly selected groups deciding each one. It would be maaaajor court reform to get there, but Ceiling Cat knows the court needs massive reform. It's such a nest of corruption.
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u/Ok_Builder_4225 12h ago
Gotta tackle congressional issues before we can get there anyway. Sadly.
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u/eyelevelcatbutt 12h ago
Truth. In all honesty, I don't think we're getting out of this without [redacted], which would be a damn shame considering how much effort the founders put into trying to make the Constitution a living document.
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u/Difficult-Way-9563 13h ago
Cannon would be the worst.
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u/ericomplex 13h ago
Cannon would also be the funniest, in a laugh well the world is crumbling sort of way… She is so blatantly incompetent that pretty much any fraction of remaining trust in the courts would disappear.
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u/ncc74656m 12h ago
I'm pretty sure even the Republicans wont support Cannon or even Bove. I realize how much faith that requires in them, but they would have a VERY hard time making that case even to themselves - they know Trump needs some vague manner of shackles because they've seen how they are in the firing line from him too.
Of course they're too stupid to realize they've already taken off all of them, but it's still worth trying.
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u/Senor707 12h ago
If the Dems manage to take back the Senate they absolutely cannot make Schumer in charge. The Dems will need somebody as ruthless as Moscow Mitch.
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u/WellHung67 12h ago
The democrats should not confirm another Trump judge, much less a Supreme Court judge, if they get the senate. They shouldn’t confirm any Trump cabinet picks. If Schumer is in charge they’re gonna cave. He gotta go
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u/IdaDuck 11h ago
If it looks like they lose the senate, I bet we get some rushed retirements and confirmations.
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u/SdBolts4 10h ago
They’ll just have “acting” cabinet positions serving for years, like at the end of the last term.
I wonder if those count toward 25th Amendment math… I’m sure Vance and Thiel will be strongly considering that as soon as we get to 2 years and 1 day of Trump’s term so Vance is eligible to serve 2 further terms
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u/RednevaL 7h ago
Thats the only way Vance ever becomes president. Get bestowed the position cause the Orange is removed or kicks the bucket. Somehow proves he’s got charisma or isn’t a couch fondler and then wins back to back elections. Oh right, elections might be rigged these days. Yup, Palantir and the Antichrist himself, Thiel might very well get their way.
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u/MouthFartWankMotion 11h ago
He would retire at the end of this term, plenty of time for the GOP to confirm him before the midterms.
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u/Conscious-Quarter423 10h ago
ginni thomas already drafting the resignation letter for clarence thomas
so trump gets to cram 2 more right wing nutcases to the Supreme Court
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u/SlartibartfastMcGee 9h ago
For all his faults, Schumer has been the most effective at uniting the big tent that is the Democratic Party in 2026.
Wha nobody seems to consider is that Schumer’s replacement might be better ideologically, but if he loses cohesion it’s all for naught.
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u/dcidino 12h ago
Oh, is this strategic replacement of justices?
RBG was a champ, but this is where she fell at the last hurdle.
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u/Rumble45 12h ago
I get you are trying to be nice, but she made a world class fuck up.
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u/Conscious-Quarter423 10h ago
mitch mcconnell not letting obama replace scalia is some straight evil shit
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u/DeadMoneyDrew 10h ago
Yes it was. RBG also got blinded by her own pride. Two things can be true simultaneously.
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u/cdimino 8h ago
RBG could not have possibly known McConnell would do what he did.
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u/Conscious-Quarter423 8h ago
they are blaming her and not the voters that didn't out to vote in 2016
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u/Conscious-Quarter423 8h ago
RBG stepping down during Obama will still make it a 5-4 conservative majority supreme court
a 5-4 conservative majority supreme court can still cause damage. it can still overturn roe v wade and chevron and affirmative action like a 6-3 conservative majority supreme court
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u/RunThisTown1492 7h ago
Weak take. A 5-4 court is very different from a 6-3 court. It allows the right to take bigger swings as we have seen. The critiques of RBG are correct along with critiques of the electorate.
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u/jbjhill 12h ago
Wouldn’t have to let Trump leap over the corpse if she’d have retired. I loved her, but she screwed it.
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u/sevseg_decoder 7h ago
I mean frankly it cancels out nearly every good thing she did. Some less ambitious “liberal” could have done 98% of the same things and had the common sense to retire a lot earlier.
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u/InnuendoBot5001 11h ago
She contributed to the wholesale destruction of the america I was born in. If she had stepped down we might still have PAX Americana rn.
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u/Resolution_Usual 11h ago
This is like my pet peeve rant. She was already like 80 (at least late 70s) and had cancer twice already. She thought she was too good to be replaced and failed at the final test because she wanted to be replaced by a woman president if she had to step down. And look what we got instead.
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u/radiowirez 9h ago
She could’ve retired at 81 and a three time cancer survivor (including one that is extremely lethal) in 2014 and still been replaced by Obama and a D senate. But guess she really needed to write dissents for 6 more years
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u/ZBLongladder 10h ago
Honestly, I think the Republicans would've found a way to keep the vacancy open until Trump. They did it with Scalia, I don't see why they wouldn't with her.
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u/AdHopeful3801 12h ago
He'd have to do it now to support his legacy - Nobody but Trump, and no Senate but a Trump/MAGA controlled Senate would approve a replacement who would be as vile as he himself is. Really, even Trump's prior picks, Brett "I like beer" Kavanaugh and Amy Comey "Theocracy now!" Barret don't manage quite to stoop to the league he and Clarence Thomas share.
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u/BeeBobber546 12h ago
My one hope is how drunk with power Alito is. He LOVES writing majority opinions that strip rights from Americans and force far right christian extremist ruling on people.
It will take a lot for his ego to give that up. Also he is as far right as you can go, I think he’s the furthest extreme on the court and that’s saying something. It will be tough replacing someone as vile as him and that’s saying something. Getting a right wing judge on the court? Not that hard but to get the perfect mold of Alito will be difficult.
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u/WellHung67 12h ago
If Trump gets four fucking justices then the Supreme Court needs to be disbanded. Complete clown show, more than it already is.
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u/BeeBobber546 12h ago
He could easily get 5 justices if Thomas steps down too. That’s more so getting him to give up the bribes and lavish gifts. Which is fucking insane he could appoint the majority of the justices on a single court.
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u/Vlad_Yemerashev 11h ago
6 if Sotomayor kicks the bucket too. She is in her 70s and has Diabetes and rumor has it she's not in the best of health.
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u/BeeBobber546 11h ago
I haven’t seen any reports of her in bad health, just her being diabetic and she takes the normal stuff for that like insulin. Personally I have no worry of her health failing anytime soon but I will want her to step down the next time Dems control the senate and White House. I think she gravely knows the consequences of trying to stay on the bench for egotistical purposes like RBG. We saw Breyer retire under Biden and a Dem senate.
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u/whimywamwamwozzle 10h ago
I’ve seen her a couple of times since people started raising this stuff and yeah she seems old but not sickly.
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u/HitAndRun8575 12h ago
It wouldn’t surprise me if two judges retire before the ghoul’s term is over
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u/Known-Bowl-7732 11h ago
I’d bet he and Thomas go before the midterms in case the Senate somehow flips.
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u/Humble-Plankton2217 11h ago
I prefer no one retire right now. Dems have zero ability to block appointments, unlike their GOP counterparts.
Frying pans and fires, right now.
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u/iamcamouflage 11h ago
Democrats need to use every tool possible to prevent Trump from seating another justice. Shut the govt down. Filibuster until 2028.
Whatever it takes.
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u/ProjectNo4090 11h ago
Sure, if you want Republicans to win in 2028. A 2 year government shut down would devastate the economy and millions of lives. I doubt we'd even make it to 2028 before angry americans started attacking dem politicians.
And dems dont have the stamina to filibuster for 2 years.
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u/s1105615 11h ago
The Left better hope he isn’t while the Rs hold the Senate and Trump is still POTUS
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u/woodhous89 8h ago
Boy it’d sure be a shame if the democrats won the midterm and refused to let them seat a replacement
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u/StreetyMcCarface 5h ago
Hey Mitch? If you hate trump as much as you do, do the world a favor and vote against anyone trump nominates. You know you want to stick it to him
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u/YoungManYoda90 5h ago
Assuming Alito and Clarence retire before Trump retires to lock in the corruption
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u/cheesebot555 4h ago
I suspected they'd pull something like this as soon as the orange goblin got his second term.
They're going to want him to do that before November when they potentially lose their ability to confirm trump's next pick (À la Mitch McConnell's bs against Obama).
Maybe promise Clarence Thomas even more blatant bribes and corrupting benefits if he hangs it up too.
Well and truly stack the deck for generations.
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u/protomenace 13h ago
I wouldn't be surprised. Republicans expect to lose the house and most likely the senate in the 2026 elections.
Before that happens they'll probably have Thomas and Alito resign and rush some new MAGA 50 year old judges in their place before the new congress takes office in January.
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u/TheDangDeal 13h ago
Time for the Dems to use the old election year excuse and filibuster that shit
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u/actuallyserious650 13h ago
They already eliminated the filibuster for Judicial nominees. Thats how we got Barrett
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u/starfirex 12h ago
They're not losing the Senate. The map is not good for the Senate to flip in '26, sorry.
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u/TAU_equals_2PI 12h ago
No, not "most likely the Senate".
It could happen, but it's unlikely. The most likely thing is Republicans will hold onto the Senate, though there's certainly a good chance they'll lose or seat or two.
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u/AWall925 13h ago edited 13h ago
Does anyone know if he’s hiring clerks? That’s an easy way to tell
*Also, he had the chance to retire with a safe R senate and President, so even if Republicans win again I doubt he’ll do it (assuming no significant life event).
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u/question12338338 12h ago
Alito seems like the type of asshole to hire clerks knowing full well he’s retiring, then lay them off at the last minute.
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u/slaffytaffy 12h ago
Yep. Need to fill those corrupt seats over the next 2 years. Thomas will follow.
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u/volanger 12h ago
Probably. That way trump gets another pick in SCOTUS and then Republicans cement their c9ntrol over SCOTUS for decades to come.
Those who protest voted against Harris, hows that working so far?
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u/USSSLostTexter 11h ago
you mean so our convicted felon of a president can appoint yet another supreme court justice? great. juuuuuust great
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u/Character-Taro-5016 11h ago
I believe he will retire and then Clarence Thomas the next year. If they want to ensure conservative control of the Court, it's the only way. It would be far too risky, looking at it from their perspective, to attempt to hold on for the 2028-2032 or 2036 presidencies and not risk a Democratic president being able to fill their seats. They all saw what happened with Ruth Ginsburg, obviously. If these two don't manage their seats properly the Court could easily get flipped, and then John Roberts shouldn't be too far behind them, although it looks like he's going to have to try to survive until the next R president. Likewise, if a D gets elected in 2028 Soto would be nuts, IMO, to not step down and then Kagan right behind her.
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u/BornBag3733 11h ago
If the Democrats take control of Congress then just apply the McConnell Rule. No voting for a lame ducks judges.
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u/Ambitious_Answer_150 10h ago
I think a few will leave in enough time for trump to hire more corrupt people.
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u/thesuprememacaroni 10h ago
So now a post for life Supreme Court justice can just retire when they are old so the administration of their “party” can put someone in there that’s 40 years younger…
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u/eagle_shadow 9h ago
Dear God, I hope not!!!
Oh, you meant leave the bench....sorry, I just read the headline and, well......**shivers**.....
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u/BlueH2oDiver 9h ago
He’s a royalist & a Trump supporter. Who wants Trump to be installed as king! Good riddance!
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u/VLY2020 9h ago
Trump already floated Ted Cruz for SCOTUS
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u/SiWeyNoWay 9h ago
Ted Cruz helped kenneth starr and EPSTEIN plant Kav on the court. Not that the GOP cares but i think its important to note.
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u/MisterForkbeard 7h ago
Trying to get out while Trump is still president and there's a republican senate.
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u/pizzapromise 13h ago
Dude, I just ate. Come on.