When Justice Antonin Scalia died in February, the Senate GOP quickly vowed to keep his Supreme Court seat open until the next president takes office. They kept that vow even after President Obama nominated Merrick Garland, somebody whom Republicans had previously praised as a best-case scenario for a nominee from a Democratic president.
Now, after Ted Cruz dropped out of the Republican race last night, it’s all but certain that the next president will be Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders or Donald Trump. We can assume that Senate Republicans aren’t hoping that Clinton or Sanders will pick the next Supreme Court justice — which means that they are holding the seat open for Trump.
Trump has attempted to reassure movement conservatives concerned about his potential Supreme Court picks that he will choose somebody from a list drawn up by the conservative Heritage Foundation , with input from the Federalist Society. Those potential nominees are bad enough — but it's possible that Trump, who isn’t known for keeping his promises, couild pick someone even worse.
However much Trump promises deference to the Heritage Foundation on the Supreme Court, the fact is that Senate Republicans are now hoping to hand over the nomination process to someone who believes the news he reads in the National Enquirer , chain emailsand racist Twitter feeds; is an enthusiastic birther conspiracy theorist; and has said that women should be punished for seeking illegal abortions.
Trump seems to lack even a basic understanding of how the legal system works, saying that judges sign bills, displaying complete ignorance of the central legal issue behind Roe v. Wade and opining that he would like to see the Obergefell marriage equality decision “unpassed.” Further showing his gravitas, he also engaged in right-wing conspiracy theories about Scalia’s death.
Senate Republicans are refusing to even hold a hearing on Garland’s nomination so that they can hold a Supreme Court seat open for months on end with the hope that Donald Trump will fill it. They have some explaining to do.
