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With the advice and consent of the United States Senate, the president of the United States appoints the members of the Supreme Court of the United States, which is the highest court of the federal judiciary of the United States. Following his victory in the 2016 presidential election, Republican Donald Trump took office as president on January 20, 2017, and faced an immediate vacancy on the Supreme Court due to the February 2016 death of Associate Justice Antonin Scalia.
During the 2016 campaign, Trump had released two lists of potential nominees to the Supreme Court. After taking office, he nominated Neil Gorsuch to succeed Scalia, and Gorsuch was confirmed in April 2017. In November 2017, five more names were added to the previous lists of potential nominees. In June 2018, Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement, creating a second vacancy on the Supreme Court. In early July 2018, Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh as his replacement; Kavanaugh was confirmed on October 6, 2018. Following the death of Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on September 18, 2020, Trump nominated Amy Coney Barrett as her replacement on September 26, 2020. Exactly a month later on October 26, 2020, Barrett was confirmed by a vote of 52–48.
The Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Barrett confirmations were enabled by a rule change made by Senate Republicans in 2017, which applied the so-called nuclear option to Supreme Court nominees and allowed nominations to be advanced by a simple majority vote rather than the historical norm of a three-fifths supermajority vote.[1] Leonard Leo played a crucial role in selecting Trump's appointees and helping them successfully navigate their Senate confirmation hearings.[2][3]
Following Trump's reelection to a second, non-consecutive term in the 2024 presidential election, and entering office with a solid Republican majority in the Senate, observers noted that he would likely have the opportunity to appoint several more justices.[4] Speculation on potential outgoing justices who might be replaced centered on Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas.[4]. Should both Thomas and Alito retire and their successors be appointed by Trump, he would become the first president since Franklin D. Roosevelt to personally appoint a majority of the Supreme Court.
- ^ Flegenheimer, Matt (April 6, 2017). "Senate Republicans Deploy 'Nuclear Option' to Clear Path for Gorsuch". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 2, 2018. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
- ^ Toobin, Jeffrey (April 10, 2017). "The Conservative Pipeline to the Supreme Court". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on April 10, 2019. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
- ^ "A conservative activist's behind-the-scenes campaign to remake the nation's courts". Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 15, 2021. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
- ^ a b "Trump will name more conservative judges. He may even pick a majority of the Supreme Court". NBC News. November 8, 2024. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
Having already picked three Supreme Court justices in his first term — who were critical in overturning abortion rights — Trump will have appointed a majority of the court if he lands two more.