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The Federal Tap: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies at 87
From Ballotpedia
September 19, 2020Issue No. 222
THE WEEK IN REVIEW
Tuesday, September 15
Federal judge to decide on extending census count deadline
- On Sept. 15, Judge Lucy Koh of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California held a hearing following her temporary restraining order, which prevented the Census Bureau from winding down its 2020 population count by Sept. 30. Another hearing was scheduled for next week to determine whether to issue a court order extending the count through the end of October.
- The Census Bureau conducts the census every 10 years, aiming to provide a complete count of the U.S. population. This data is used for congressional apportionment. Following the 2010 census, 10 states lost seats and eight states gained seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
- In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the Bureau asked Congress to delay the deadline for delivering congressional apportionment counts to the president from December 31, 2020, to April 30, 2021. The Bureau also proposed ending its count by Oct. 31. Congress has not passed legislation changing the statutory deadlines. The Bureau stated in August it would aim to meet the original statutory deadlines and that it would cease counting on Sept. 30.
- On Sept. 3, the National Urban League filed an emergency request on behalf of several challengers, requesting a court order to extend census counting through October. On Sept. 5, Koh issued a temporary restraining order to stop the Bureau from winding down its count.
- On Sept. 15, Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) introduced a bill to extend the count through Oct. 31 and the deadline for delivering apportionment counts to the end of next April. A similar bill passed the House earlier this year as part of a coronavirus package, but the Senate didn't act on the legislation.
Voters decide congressional primaries in Delaware
- Delaware held its statewide primary election on Sept. 15. Races for two congressional seats were on the ballot—one for a U.S. Senate seat and one for Delaware’s at-large U.S. House seat. Both incumbents filed for re-election and won their respective primaries, advancing to the general election on Nov. 3.
- In the race for Delaware’s Class II Senate seat, incumbent Chris Coons (D) advanced from the Democratic primary over challenger Jessica Scarane with 73% of the vote according to unofficial results. Republican Lauren Witzke won the Republican primary, beating James DeMartino with 57% of the vote.
- Incumbent Lisa Blunt Rochester was unopposed in the Democratic primary for Delaware’s at-large U.S. House seat. The primary was canceled and Rochester advanced automatically to the general election. In the Republican primary, Lee Murphy secured 74% of the vote to advance to the general over Matthew Morris.
Wednesday, September 16
U.S. Supreme Court releases December argument calendar
- The U.S. Supreme Court has released its December argument calendar for the 2020-2021 term. The court will hear 10 hours of oral arguments in 10 cases between November 30 and December 9.
- So far, the court has agreed to hear 31 cases during its 2020-2021 term.
- November 30, 2020
- December 1, 2020
- Nestlé USA v. Doe I (Consolidated Cargill v. Doe I)
- CIC Services v. Internal Revenue Service
- December 2, 2020
- December 7, 2020
- December 8, 2020
- Facebook v. Duguid
- Henry Schein Inc. v. Archer and White Sales Inc. (2020)
- December 9, 2020
- Collins v. Mnuchin (Consolidated with Mnuchin v. Collins)
Thursday, September 17
U.S. Senate confirms eight U.S. District Court nominees
- The U.S. Senate confirmed eight nominees to U.S. District Court judgeships. The 94 U.S. District Courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts.
- The U.S. Senate has confirmed 216 of President Trump’s Article III judicial nominees—two Supreme Court justices, 53 appellate court judges, 159 district court judges, and two U.S. Court of International Trade judges—since January 2017.
- The confirmed nominees are:
- Stephen McGlynn and David Dugan, confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. When they assume office (after receiving their judicial commission and taking their judicial oath), the court will have:
- No vacancies.
- Two Democrat-appointed judges and two Republican-appointed judges.
- Franklin Valderrama and Iain Johnston, confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. When they assume office, the court will have:
- No vacancies.
- 13 Democrat-appointed judges and nine Republican-appointed judges.
- Stanley Blumenfeld, Mark Scarsi, and John Holcomb, confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. When they assume office, the court will have:
- Seven vacancies.
- Nine Democrat-appointed judges and 12 Republican-appointed judges.
- Todd Robinson, confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. After Robinson assumes office, the court will have:
- Four vacancies.
- Four Democrat-appointed judges and five Republican-appointed judges.
- Blumenfeld, Scarsi, Holcomb, and Robinson are the first four District Court nominees to be confirmed to a California court since Trump took office.
- Stephen McGlynn and David Dugan, confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. When they assume office (after receiving their judicial commission and taking their judicial oath), the court will have:
Trump, Biden issue congressional endorsements
- President Donald Trump (R) and challenger Joe Biden (D) issued a combined 26 endorsements in U.S. House races between Sept. 10 and Sept. 17. Biden endorsed 19 candidates, while Trump endorsed seven.
- Joe Biden’s 19 recent endorsements include one incumbent and 18 challengers. Sixteen of the challengers are running in districts currently represented by a Republican, one is running in a district currently represented by a Libertarian, and one is running for a vacant seat.
| Recent endorsements by Joe Biden, 2020 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | District | Incumbent | |
| Kara Eastman (D) | Nebraska’s 2nd | Don Bacon (R) | |
| Christy Smith (D) | California’s 25th | Mike Garcia (R) | |
| Eugene DePasquale (D) | Pennsylvania’s 10th | Scott Perry (R) | |
| Hillary Scholten (D) | Michigan’s 3rd | Justin Amash (L) | |
| Kate Schroder (D) | Ohio’s 1st | Steve Chabot (R) | |
| Nancy Goroff (D) | New York’s 1st | Lee Zeldin (R) | |
| Jackie Gordon (D) | New York’s 2nd | Peter King (R) | |
| Desiree Tims (D) | Ohio’s 10th | Michael Turner (R) | |
| Carolyn Long (D) | Washington’s 3rd | Jaime Herrera Beutler (R) | |
| Gina Ortiz Jones (D) | Texas’ 23rd | Will Hurd (R) | |
| Candace Valenzuela (D) | Texas’ 24th | Kenny Marchant (R) | |
| Jill Schupp (D) | Missouri’s 2nd | Ann Wagner (R) | |
| Pat Timmons Goodson (D) | North Carolina’s 8th | Richard Hudson (R) | |
| Amy Kennedy (D) | New Jersey’s 2nd | Jeff Van Drew (R) | |
| Sima Ladjevardian (D) | Texas’ 2nd | Daniel Crenshaw (R) | |
| Joyce Elliott (D) | Arkansas’ 2nd | French Hill (R) | |
| Sharice Davids (D) | Kansas’ 2nd | Sharice Davids (D) | |
| Ammar Campa-Najjar (D) | California’s 50th | -- | |
| Jon Hoadley (D) | Michigan’s 6th | Fred Upton (R) | |
- Donald Trump’s seven recent endorsements include one incumbent and six challengers. Four of the challengers are running for seats currently held by Republicans and two are running for seats currently held by Democrats.
| Recent endorsements by Donald Trump, 2020 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | District | Incumbent | |
| Byron Donalds (R) | Florida’s 19th | Francis Rooney (R) | |
| Kat Cammack (R) | Florida’s 3rd | Ted Yoho (R) | |
| Lauren Boebert (R) | Colorado’s 3rd | Scott Tipton (R) | |
| Jim Bognet (R) | Pennsylvania’s 8th | Matt Cartwright (D) | |
| Yvette Herrell (R) | New Mexico’s 2nd | Xochitl Torres Small (D) | |
| Richard Hudson (R) | North Carolina’s 8th | Richard Hudson (R) | |
| Mary Miller (R) | Illinois’ 15th | John Shimkus (R) | |
Friday, September 18
- United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on Friday, September 18, at the age of 87. Ginsburg was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Bill Clinton and confirmed to the court in 1993. She was the second woman to ever serve on the Supreme Court.
- She served on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 1980 to 1993. She began her legal career in academia, teaching at Rutgers University Law School and Columbia Law School, in addition to directing the Women’s Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union.
- Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution gives the President of the United States the authority to nominate Supreme Court justices, and they are appointed with the advice and consent of the Senate.
- The average vacancy length on the Supreme Court since 1962—when defined as the length of time elapsed between a Justice’s departure date and the swearing-in of their successor—is 88 days. Four of these vacancies lasted for only a few hours each; the successor was sworn in the same day the retiring Justice officially left office. The longest vacancy under this definition was 422 days, following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia.
On the campaign trail with Biden
- On Monday, Joe Biden discussed climate change and the economy during an event in Delaware.
- On Tuesday, Biden met with veterans in Tampa and attended a Hispanic Heritage Month event in Kissimmee.
- On Wednesday, Biden delivered remarks about the coronavirus pandemic in Delaware.
- On Thursday, Biden participated in a town hall in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
- On Friday, Biden campaigned in northern Minnesota.
On the campaign trail with Trump
On Sunday, Donald Trump held his first indoor rally in three months in Nevada.
- On Monday, Trump traveled to California to speak with local and federal officials about the wildfires across the state.
- On Tuesday, Trump traveled to Philadelphia to participate in an ABC News town hall.
- On Wednesday, Trump remained in Washington, D.C.
- On Thursday, Trump held a campaign rally in Mosinee, Wisconsin.
- On Friday, Trump campaigned in northern Minnesota.
Congress is in session
Both chambers of Congress are in session next week. Click here to see the full calendar for the second session of the 116th Congress.
SCOTUS is on recess
The Supreme Court has finished hearing arguments and releasing opinions this term. To learn about the upcoming 2020-2021 term, click here.
WHAT'S ON TAP NEXT WEEK
Where was the president last week?
- On Monday, Trump participated in a Latinos for Trump Roundtable in Phoenix, Arizona.
- On Tuesday, Trump met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Prime Minister of Israel.
- On Wednesday, Trump remained in Washington, D.C.
- On Thursday, Trump spoke at the White House Conference on American History.
- On Friday, Trump received his intelligence briefing and held a news conference.
Federal Judiciary
- 74 federal judicial vacancies
- 48 pending nominations
- 3 future federal judicial vacancies
About
The Tap covered election news, public policy, and other noteworthy events from February 2016 to February 2022.
