Scott Rasmussen's Number of the Day for March 28, 2017
The Number of the Day columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
March 28, 2017: Following his hearings last week, Judge Neil Gorsuch is highly likely to be confirmed as the newest justice on the United States Supreme Court. While many Senate Democrats are unhappy about that, there is little they can do to stop it.
Many Democrats are more concerned, however, about President Trump’s next Supreme Court nominee. They are especially worried about what might happen if the president gets the chance to replace a liberal justice like Ruth Bader Ginsburg or the centrist Justice Anthony Kennedy.
But it is far from certain that President Trump will have the opportunity to make another appointment. Of the 44 presidents who served prior to Donald Trump, 14 appointed either only one Supreme Court justice or didn’t make any appointments. That’s roughly one-third of all the presidents.
And, as noted in an earlier Number of the Day, the remaining life expectancy of the oldest justice (Ruth Bader Ginsburg) is nearly eight years. So there is a very real possibility that Gorsuch will be the only justice appointed to the Supreme Court by Donald Trump.
On the other hand, while far from certain, it is not unreasonable to expect a current justice to either resign or pass away.
George Washington appointed more Supreme Court justices than any other president. He appointed a total of 10, but that’s largely because he had to fill the very first Supreme Court.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was elected as president four times and served just over 12 years in office, appointed eight justices. Andrew Jackson appointed six. Three presidents made five appointments each: Abraham Lincoln, William Howard Taft, and Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Collectively, those six presidents appointed a whopping 35 percent of the nation’s justices throughout history (39 out of 113).
Six other presidents appointed four justices each, six appointed three each, and 11 appointed two each. The last four presidents—Obama, Bush, Clinton, and Bush Sr.—appointed two each. Ronald Reagan made three appointments.
One of Reagan’s appointees—Justice Kennedy—still serves on the court. So does one appointee from the first President Bush (Clarence Thomas). The court also includes two appointees apiece from President Clinton, the second President Bush, and President Obama.
- Yesterday’s Number of the Day was 4,269, the number of breweries in the United States. That figure helps explain the tension and polarization of 21st-century politics.
- Last Friday’s number was $205 billion, the growth in federal spending projected in President Trump’s 2018 budget plan.
- Thursday’s number was 101 minutes, the average time spent in the waiting room and traveling to see a doctor.
- Wednesday’s number was 39.3, the gallons of water consumed by the average American in 2016. For the first time ever, Americans consumed more bottled water than soda.
- Tuesday’s number was 32.6, the number of years Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch could serve on the court based on life expectancy.
- Monday’s number looked at 206 Pivot Counties that voted twice for President Obama and then voted for President Trump in 2016.
Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day is published by Ballotpedia weekdays at 8:00 a.m. Eastern. Click here to check out the latest update.
The Number of the Day is broadcast on local stations across the country. An archive of these broadcasts can be found here.
Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
Ballotpedia is the nonprofit, nonpartisan Encyclopedia of American Politics.
See also
- Scott Rasmussen's Number of the Day
- Federal judicial nominations by president
- Supreme Court of the United States
- Federal Vacancy Warning System
Footnotes
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