Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1990s by Bill Clinton, passed away on September 18, 2020. Her passing was a serious blow to those on the left, as Ginsburg was regarded by many as a feminist icon. Additionally, her death left a vacant seat on the Supreme Court, only a month before the November election.
This put Democrats in an unenviable position: like with Antonin Scalia’s death during the Obama administration, a Supreme Court justice had died close to the election. The same person who was in charge of the Senate in 2015, Mitch McConnell, was in charge in 2020.
Under McConnell’s direction, the Senate refused to hear President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland. By choosing to simply not convene a hearing on Garland’s appointment, McConnell essentially blocked Obama from being able to appoint anyone to the Supreme Court.
The Garland Precedent
By setting this precedent with Merrick Garland, McConnell gave the impression that the Senate should simply avoid any hearings on Supreme Court nominees when the upcoming president was in doubt.
In 2017, after Donald Trump was elected, he appointed Neil Gorsuch to the high court. Following this, the retirement of Anthony Breyer opened another seat, allowing Trump to nominate the wildly controversial Brett Kavanaugh, a nominee who was hounded by accusations of sexual assault.
So, when Ginsburg passed away in 2020, many Democrats wondered if McConnell would follow the precedent he himself had set in 2016. However, this was not to be: McConnell rushed to push through the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett, a fundamentalist religious judge who was regarded by many legal scholars as the “polar opposite” of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
The speed with which the Senate confirmed Barrett was especially astounding given the slow pace at which the chamber had moved when considering relief bills for the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Playing Hardball
This has led many pundits to accuse McConnell and Senate Republicans of playing political hardball with the Supreme Court. Since justices serve for life following their appointments, the confirmation of a justice can have an effect on politics for decades to come.
Some have even accused McConnell and Senate Republicans of engaging in minority rule: indeed, judging by national polls, lifetime appointments are unpopular.
However, the question of “what can be done” is still up in the air. President-elect Joe Biden could “pack the court” by appointing four new justices of his own, though such a move would draw swift outrage from Republicans, and likely further court-packing the next time a Republican president is in office. Democrats may indeed have to contend with a conservative-majority court for years to come.
