The president announced that the new judge will be chosen immediately and then it will be up to the Senate to ratify his appointment, within Election Day. A decision contested by the Democrats, because the practice dictates that in elections the decision belongs to the new president h2> (Photo: Yasin Ozturk / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images) The death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the first female judge of the United States Supreme Court, has left a seat vacant that could completely overturn the entire composition of the highest American court . And the thing is coveted by Republicans: while waiting to find a replacement, among the current eight members there are five Republican-oriented and three Democrats. Should President Donald Trump appoint a new judge, the court could be totally controlled by conservatives, with major repercussions on civil rights, gender equality, immigration and economic legislation.
The President Trump, in an interview with reporters at the White House, has in fact already said that the appointment could arrive between 25 and 26 September so as to leave a margin of 38 days for the Senate to ratify it, as usual. It has already been said that it will be a woman and the most popular names right now are those of Amy Coney Barrett, a member of the Chicago Court of Appeals and known for her anti-abortion views; Barbara Lagoa, of Cuban descent and first Hispanic judge of the Supreme Court of Florida and Kate Comerford Todd, current deputy adviser of the White House.
The opposition of the Democrats
The Democrats, however, do not agree. Presidential candidate Joe Biden called Trump's decision an "abuse of power" and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the New York Times explained that the DEMs are exploring all the possibilities offered by the US Constitution to thwart the nomination. For some American media, the possibility of a new impeachment is also being considered.
The concomitance with the elections has always been considered a valid reason for postponing the appointment of judge because, given the importance and duration of office (which is for life), it has always been preferred to postpone it and delegate it to the new president. In 2016, when Conservative judge Antonin Scalia died, then President Barack Obama was unable to replace him as Republicans in the Senate - the chamber tasked with ratifying the nominations - opposed it, arguing that in the election year it was not appropriate to elect a new judge.
In this case, however, the past does not matter because the stakes are different: Republicans have 53 senators against 47 for Democrats. It is no coincidence that the leader of the Republican party in the Senate Mitch McConnell reiterated after Ginsburg's death that it is a constitutional right of the president to appoint a new judge. The vote will have to be scheduled quickly because the elections of November 2 are approaching: on previous occasions, on average, the appointment of a new judge takes about 70 days, in very few cases - as in that of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, in 1993 - it lasted less, about 40 days. Trump remains, however, just over a month, even if for some commentators the time frame could be longer: the new Congress can only take office after January 3 and, therefore, the outgoing Senate could gain yet another month.
