Trump Could End Up Replacing 3, Even 4, Supreme Court Justices In His First Term

President Donald Trump reportedly has suggested he hopes to remake nearly half of the US’s highest court in his image by making four separate appointments during his first term — and so far, that’d already be half right.

Upon taking office, Trump quickly filled the Supreme Court vacancy left by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia with Neil Gorsuch, a conservative who has already played a key role.

On Wednesday, Justice Anthony Kennedy announced that he would retire on July 31.

Trump now stands to secure two justices in the first half of his first term. Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush appointed two justices each during their eight years in office.

Advertisement

Supreme Court justices, who serve for life after a presidential appointment and Senate confirmation, represent one of the longer-lasting marks a president can leave on the country, as the justices often serve for decades.

But Trump reportedly thinks he can get an additional two justices in.

In October, the news website Axios cited an anonymous source detailing private predictions by Trump that Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor would retire during his term.

“What does she weigh? 60 pounds?” Trump asked of the now-85-year-old Ginsburg, a source told Axios. The same report indicated Trump said Sotomayor, over 20 years younger than Ginsburg, was also in trouble because of “her health.”

“No good. Diabetes,” Trump reportedly said.

Advertisement

Sotomayor had a health scare in January with paramedics treating her for low blood sugar, but she quickly returned to work. Sotomayor says she’s vigilant about her Type 1 diabetes, which she’s had since childhood.

During the 2016 campaign, Trump often said he or his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, could end up appointing five justices.

Democrats stand to lose it all

President Donald Trump applauding Justice Neil Gorsuch during his public swearing-in ceremony at the White House on April 10, 2017.AP Photo/Evan Vucci

So far, Trump has had the chance only to replace judges appointed by Republican presidents, and he is sure to nominate a conservative-leaning judge to replace Kennedy.

The nine-justice court already leans conservative, but Kennedy, chosen by President Ronald Reagan, has been viewed as a swing vote during his tenure, supporting same-sex marriage and upholding a woman’s right to abortion.

Advertisement

Ginsburg and Sotomayor are liberal justices, so replacing both Kennedy and either of them with conservatives could change the court’s makeup for decades, possibly reversing decisions like Roe v. Wade.

“The future of our democracy is at stake,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said of replacing Kennedy.

“We’re looking at a destruction of the Constitution of the United States,” if Trump gets to appoint another conservative to the Supreme Court, Sen. Kamala Harris, a Democrat from California, said on MSNBC.

Supreme Court nominees need at least 51 Senate votes to win confirmation, and Republicans hold a 51-49 majority. For Democrats, this makes their bid to take control of the Senate in November’s elections all the more vital.