Donald Trump appears to be entering a presidency that could be virtually unchecked. The 78-year-old President-elect, who faced opposition from the Supreme Court during his first term as he tried to shut down the DACA program and add a citizenship question to the census, now has a chance to lead with unprecedented control as he works with a Senate controlled by Republicans.
ABC News contributor Kate Shaw told Good Morning America that Trump may get a conservative court that is “not likely to act as a comparable check.”
Trump, who already appointed three of the nine justices during his first term, can have the opportunity to add more conservative judges. Shaw said Trump will likely replace conservative judges Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito, Jr., who are both in their 70s if they retire, but the real question is what happens to the three Democratic appointees.
“Another vacancy would transfer the court in a way that we really haven’t seen before,” Shaw said.
CBS News Chief Legal Correspondent Jan Crawford said Trump will likely have “free reign” as he begins his second term with control of the Supreme Court and the Senate.
“He actually turned the court to the right in a way no other Republican president has been able to do, and they have tried,” Crawford told CBS News. “Now with this election, he has yet another chance to keep that court a conservative court for a generation.”
Trump’s decision will have major implications on several key issues, including gun control and transgender rights, Crawford argued. But the big picture is that the impact will be felt for decades to come.
“Trump really has a chance to set this court on a conservative course for the next 30 years,” Crawford said.
According to NPR, the court can remain as it is for a while if none of the judges retire or if an unexpected health crisis doesn’t happen. The oldest Supreme Court judges are Thomas at 76, Alito at 74, Justice Sonia Sotomayor at 70 and Chief Justice Roberts at 69. Although there has been some speculation about Thomas or Alito nearing retirement, nothing is confirmed.
The post The Election Just Gave Donald Trump Another Chance To Keep The Supreme Court Conservative For A Generation appeared first on Blavity.
