Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016/Supreme Court vacancy
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On March 16, 2016, President Barack Obama announced Merrick Garland as his nominee to fill the late Justice Antonin Scalia's seat on the United States Supreme Court.[2] At the time of his nomination, Garland was serving as chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He joined the court in 1997 after being nominated by former President Bill Clinton.[3]
In 2010, Garland was considered a front-runner for nomination to the Supreme Court of the United States following the retirement of Justice John Paul Stevens. Justice Elena Kagan was chosen instead.[4]
Justice Scalia died on February 13, 2016, at 79 years of age. A member of the U.S. Supreme Court for three decades, Scalia was considered "a champion of originalism" and the dominant conservative voice of the Court.[5][6]
His unexpected death created a vacancy in the Supreme Court. Several members of the U.S. Senate quickly made public comments on whether President Barack Obama (D) should nominate a replacement. U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said, "The American people deserve to have a fully functioning Supreme Court. The Supreme Court of the United States is too important to our democracy for it to be understaffed for partisan reasons. It is only February. The president and the Senate should get to work without delay to nominate, consider and confirm the next justice to serve on the Supreme Court.”[6]
Some leading Republicans suggested that the individual elected to the presidency in November 2016 should have the right to make the nomination. U.S. Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said in a statement: "The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president."[7] A spokesperson for U.S. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), Conn Carroll, tweeted, "What is less than zero? The chances of Obama successfully appointing a Supreme Court Justice to replace Scalia?"[8]
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) charged, "It would be unprecedented in recent history for the Supreme Court to go a year with a vacant seat. Failing to fill this vacancy would be a shameful abdication of one of the Senate's most essential Constitutional responsibilities."[9]
Read what Donald Trump and the 2016 Republican Party Platform said about the death of Antonin Scalia and the Supreme Court vacancy below.
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Trump on the Supreme Court vacancy
- In response to a question from moderator Chris Wallace during the third presidential debate on October 19, 2016, Donald Trump gave the following remarks on the U.S. Supreme Court, "The Supreme Court, it is what it is all about. Our country is so, so, it is just so imperative that we have the right justices. Something happened recently where Justice Ginsburg made some very inappropriate statements toward me and toward a tremendous number of people. Many, many millions of people that I represent and she was forced to apologize. And apologize she did. But these were statements that should never, ever have been made. We need a Supreme Court that in my opinion is going to uphold the second amendment and all amendments, but the second amendment which is under absolute siege. I believe, if my opponent should win this race, which I truly don't think will happen, we will have a second amendment which will be a very, very small replica of what it is right now. But I feel that it is absolutely important that we uphold because of the fact that it is under such trauma. I feel that the justices that I am going to appoint, and I've named 20 of them. The justices that I am going to appoint will be pro-life. They will have a conservative bent. They will be protecting the second amendment. They are great scholars in all cases and they're people of tremendous respect. They will interpret the constitution the way the founders wanted it interpreted and I believe that’s very important. I don't think we should have justices appointed that decide what they want to hear. It is all about the constitution of, and it is so important. The constitution the way it was meant to be. And those are the people that I will appoint."[10]
- Trump released a list of names from which he would choose nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court as president on September 23, 2016. The list includes four state supreme court judges, four federal appellate judges, and two federal district court judges. This list adds to a list of 11 potential nominees Trump released on May 18, 2016. In a press release, Trump thanked the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation, among others, for help in constructing the list.[11] For a complete list of Trump's potential nominees to the Supreme Court, click here.
- On February 14, 2016, Donald Trump said that he was joking when he stated in 2015 that he would appoint his sister, federal judge Maryanne Trump Barry, to the Supreme Court if given the opportunity. He said, “My sister’s a brilliant person, known as a brilliant person, but it’s obviously a conflict. … My sister, also she — she also happens to have a little bit different views than me, but I said in that in a very joking matter, and it was all lots of fun and everything else.”[12]
- At the Republican presidential debate on February 13, 2016, Trump identified federal judges Diane Sykes and William Pryor as potential replacements for Antonin Scalia. He added that he expected President Barack Obama would nominate a justice and that it was "up to Mitch McConnell, and everybody else to stop it. It's called delay, delay, delay."[13]
- Earlier on February 13, 2016, Trump tweeted, "The totally unexpected loss of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is a massive setback for the Conservative movement and our COUNTRY!"[14]
| The 2016 Republican Party Platform on the judiciary | ||||||
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Recent news
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See also
- Supreme Court vacancy, 2016: An overview
- Impact of the 2016 election on the United States Supreme Court
- U.S. Senators on the nomination of Merrick Garland
- Complete list of Donald Trump's potential nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court
- Presidential candidates, 2016
- Process to fill the vacated seat of Justice Antonin Scalia
- U.S. Supreme Court
- Antonin Scalia
- Merrick Garland
Footnotes
- ↑ The Wall Street Journal, "Donald Trump Enters 2016 Presidential Race," June 16, 2015
- ↑ NPR, "President Obama To Announce Merrick Garland As Supreme Court Nominee," accessed March 16, 2016
- ↑ United States Court of Appeals District of Columbia Circuit, "Merrick B. Garland," accessed August 22, 2013
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Profiles of three possible successors to Justice John Paul Stevens," April 10, 2010
- ↑ The New York Times, "Justice Antonin Scalia, Who Led a Conservative Renaissance on the Supreme Court, Is Dead at 79," February 13, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 The Hill, "Justice Antonin Scalia dead," February 13, 2016
- ↑ CNBC, "U.S. Senate leader McConnell says wait on replacing Scalia," February 13, 2016
- ↑ The Huffington Post, "Conservatives Quickly Refuse Any Obama Court Replacement After Antonin Scalia's Death," February 13, 2016
- ↑ Talking Points Memo, "Harry Reid To Republicans: You Better Not Block Us From Replacing Scalia," February 13, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "Full transcript: Third 2016 presidential debate," October 20, 2016
- ↑ NPR, "Donald Trump Unveils New, More Diverse Supreme Court Short List," September 23, 2016
- ↑ The New York Times, "Trump Says He Was Kidding in Suggesting His Sister for the Court," February 14, 2016
- ↑ The Washington Post, "The CBS News Republican debate transcript, annotated," February 13, 2016
- ↑ Twitter, "Donald Trump," February 13, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Republican Party, "The 2016 Republican Party Platform," accessed August 23, 2016
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