White House Prepares for Possible Supreme Court Vacancy

Posted on June 4, 2007

Trying to get back into the groove of this blogging thing, so I thought I would share some thoughts on one of the things we like to focus on around here…the Supreme Court. According to an ABC Exclusive, it looks like the White House is preparing for a possible vacancy.

The White House is developing a short list of possible Supreme Court nominees so President Bush can move swiftly if a justice retires at the end of June, when the Court breaks for its summer recess, according to sources involved in the selection process.

Bush met with top advisers last month, and they discussed possible nominees if a Supreme Court vacancy occurs.

The news is nothing to get overexcited about. There isn’t any fresh rumor being whispered in halls of D.C. that we know of. However, this is something to keep a close eye on. While both have said they don’t plan on stepping down, if any justices do, the most likely are John Paul Stevens and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. In my opinion, a fresh replacement for either one of these two Justices would make for a better Supreme Court. Despite my bias against their political leanings they are both getting up in their years. With Justice John Paul Stevens just passing the 87 mark, and Ginsburg falling asleep at the bench, it is past time for both Justices to pass on the torch to others.

While the White House prepares a short list every spring just in case, there is good news to hope for in all of this. Despite many disappointments on other issues and the “Myers scare”, appointing Consitutionalist judges is something Bush has a good track record on. The addition of Roberts and Alito has helped balance out the Court, however it remains divided on many important issues.

The short list is leaning towards a politically correct approach for a balanced court with replacement possibilities being topped with women and minorities. The inside word sounds promising.

With the heated political climate — and with Bush’s approval ratings still low — advisers believe they cannot afford any missteps with the Supreme Court if a vacancy were to occur, sources said.

To that end, advisers are focusing on possible nominees who are believed to be solid judicial conservatives and would galvanize the base at a time when Bush desperately needs its support.

What should also excite fellow Conservatives is some of the names appearing on the list.

In that camp are federal appeals court Judges Priscilla Owen and Janice Rogers Brown. Both were filibustered by Senate Democrats after Bush nominated them as appellate judges and were eventually confirmed after Senate leaders struck a compromise on judicial nominations.

Either could have been a likely replacement for O’Connor in 2005, but leading Senate Republicans told the White House not to nominate them because they were seen as too controversial at the time. Now that both are on the federal bench, the White House has put them back on a working short list.

In summary, this is something to hope for, but not to get overexcited about. If the situation unfolds for this, only one thing is for sure. We saw it happen with the past two appointments and we will see it again. The Democrats will put up a big fight, and emboldened by their new power of majority and the threat of a real balance shift in the Court, the fight will be bigger than we’ve seen before.

» Filed Under Activist Judges, News, Supreme Court

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One Response to “White House Prepares for Possible Supreme Court Vacancy”

Sean Hackbarth on June 4th, 2007 2:38 pm

The Bush White House better pray they don’t have to nominate anyone. With the way they have been badly playing the political game they’d have another disaster on their hands.