Democrats in frantic talks to push out most liberal Supreme Court justice
Democrats are in frantic talks to push out the most liberal Supreme Court justice so they can replace her before Donald Trump takes office .
The party is scrambling to get Sonia Sotomayor, 70, to step down so that they can replace her with another progressive nominee before Mr Trump takes control of the White House.
Following Mr Trump's sweeping election victory , he has the power to replace retiring Supreme Court justices with more conservative nominees, potentially tilting it even further in their favour.
Republicans have signalled they plan to prioritise confirming new justices under Mr Trump. John Cornyn, who is hotly tipped to become the next Senate majority leader, has said: "Come January, we must be ready to confirm his nominees."
The Court is currently weighted six to three in the Republicans' favour, which has given it a supermajority to push through conservative legislation including overturning the national right to an abortion .
Fears Sotomayor will not last four years
Democrats fear that Ms Sotomayor, who is the oldest liberal justice on the bench and suffers from diabetes, will not last the four years until they can next compete for office.
Supreme Court justices are appointed for life but can retire beforehand if they choose to.
One senator told Politico that the topic of ousting Ms Sotomayor has come up repeatedly in talks this week, with Washington DC Circuit Judge Michelle Childs floated as her potential replacement.
" Sonia Sotomayor needs to retire right now," a Biden administration official told NBC after Trump's victory was projected on election night.
The subject of replacing her was previously raised last year to avoid a repeat of what happened to former Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who refused to step down to ensure there would be a liberal replacement.
Ms Bader Ginsburg died serving on the bench during Mr Trump's first term, which enabled him to swing the court to the Right by appointing Amy Coney Barrett, cementing a powerful 6-3 conservative supermajority.
There is no rule prohibiting Democrats from confirming Ms Sotomayor's successor during the so-called lame-duck session of the court – before Congress convenes in January.
However, there are concerns that time is running out. "I don't think they could realistically confirm a replacement, and it would be risky," Alex Aronson, a former Democratic Senate staffer, told NBC.
Trump could appoint majority of judges on court
It is understood that Democrats would have to convince her to retire at once, Mr Biden would have to nominate a successor and the party would have to bring enough senators on board. They would then have to overcome any hurdles thrown up by Republicans and arrange a whole floor vote before the new Congress is sworn in in January.
On the conservative side of the bench, Samuel Alito, 74, is expected to retire soon, while Clarence Thomas, who will next year become the longest-serving justice on the court, will be 80 by the time of the next presidential election in 2028.
Having appointed three judges in his previous term, Mr Trump could well extend his extraordinary imprint, making him the first president to appoint a majority of judges on the court since Franklin D. Roosevelt.
His previous appointees – Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett – all voted to overturn abortion rights and regularly supported rulings invalidating Biden administration actions.
Mr Trump made reshaping both the Supreme Court and the lower courts a priority in his first term, naming 234 new federal judges.
Legal efforts to block Mr Trump's policy agenda have already been proposed by officials in California and New York, where Lititia Brown, the state's attorney general, said she would "fight" efforts to rollback rights "every step of the way".
