Trump's SCOTUS Shortlist

Trump Adds to SCOTUS Shortlist

In light of the recent death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the recent additions to President Trump’s Supreme Court shortlist are something we should be paying attention to. Each of the potential nominees on Trump’s list have records that are hostile to abortion, voting rights legislation, LGBTQ+ rights, and regulations of business and the environment (Totenberg, 2020). 

This new shortlist came within a week of major negative news stories surrounding President Trump. He was recently revealed to have made comments calling Americans who died in war “losers” and “suckers,” and also admitted on tape to Bob Woodward to playing down the deadly COVID-19 pandemic (Ronan, 2020). The extension of the list added 20 new names to ones President Trump has previously said he would consider nominating. Many of the individual’s already present on the list are anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-choice (Ring, 2020). While the additional names would also align with these views, this new list is much more political than the last. The list now includes three US Senators, who are all conservatives: Tom Cotton (Arkansas), Ted Cruz (Texas), and Josh Hawley (Missouri). Each of these senators has criticized Chief Justice John Roberts for not being conservative enough (Totenberg, 2020).

Many of the recent additions to the list are current Trump appointed US Circuit Court of Appeals judges. This includes Stuart Kyle Duncan who currently serves on the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals. As a sitting judge he refused to use a transgender defendant’s chosen pronouns, and even went so far as to dismiss the broader concept of gender identity. Prior to his appointment to the 5th Circuit, he was part of the legal team that represented the Gloucester County School Board in its case against Gavin Grimm (a transgender high school student unable to use the restroom that aligned with his gender identity). Lawrence Van Dyke, another recent addition, currently sits on the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals. During a hearing ahead of his confirmation to the 9th Circuit, the American Bar Association wrote a scathing letter that deemed him unqualified and questioned his ability to treat LGBTQ+ litigants fairly (Moreau, 2020). “One of the most anti-LGBTQ judges on the Court of Appeals” (Lambda Legal, 2020) has also been added to Trump’s shortlist: James Ho. Ho also currently sits on the 5th Circuit and ruled against a transgender inmate seeking to undergo gender reassignment surgery in prison last December (Moreau, 2020).

Sharon McGowan, the legal director for Lambda Legal, described a number of the potential nominees as “dangerous, ultraconservative ideologues” in a statement. She went on to state that Trump unveiling a list of candidates who hold these beliefs “should worry all who believe in the importance of a fair-minded judiciary” (Lambda Legal, 2020). Human Rights Campaign President Alphonso David echoed the sentiments expressed by McGowan, stating that this list “is nothing but a wishlist from groups such as the Federalist Society and The Heritage Foundation, which have a track record of hostility towards progress, tolerance, and equality” (Ronan, 2020).

Although the Senate refused to hold confirmation hearings for former president Barack Obama’s Supreme Court pick following the unexpected death of Antonin Scalia in 2016 - citing the need for the people to decide in the upcoming election (269 days away) - it appears that precedent will not be followed now. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has stated that the seat will be filled as quickly as possible, despite the 2020 election being only 46 days away (Buchanan & Yourish, 2020). The current frontrunner appears to be previously announced pick Amy Coney Barrett, who is serving on the 7th Circuit of the US Court of Appeals (Ring, 2020).

Don’t forget to register to vote and/or contact your senator to let them know if you disagree with the decision to attempt to replace Justice Ginsburg before the election.

References:

Buchanan, L. & Yourish, K. (2020, September 19). Ginsburg Supreme Court vacancy is the second closest

to a U.S. election ever. The New York Times. Retrieved on September 19, 2020 from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/09/19/us/politics/supreme-court-vacancies-election-year.html

Lambda Legal. (2020, Sept 9). Lambda Legal blasts Trump’s SCOTUS shortlist filled with 

anti-LGBT and extremist judges. Retrieved on Sept 13, 2020 from https://www.lambdalegal.org/news/dc_20200909_trump-scotus-shortlist

Moreau, J. (2020, Sept 11). Trump’s supreme court shortlist is ‘terrifying,’ LGBTQ advocates say. NBC

News. Retrieved on Sept 13, 2020 from https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/trump-s-supreme-court-shortlist-terrifying-lgbtq-advocates-say-n1239861

Ring, T. (2020, Sept 9). Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton, DOMA lawyer on Trump’s SCOTUS list. The Advocate.

Retrieved on Sept 14, 2020 from https://www.advocate.com/politics/2020/9/09/ted-cruz-tom-cotton-doma-lawyer-trumps-scotus-list

Ronan, W. (2020, Sept 10). Human Rights Campaign on Trump’s Supreme Court nominee shortlist.

Human Rights Campaign. Retrieved on Sept 13, 2020 from https://www.hrc.org/press-releases/human-rights-campaign-on-trumps-supreme-court-nominee-shortlist

Totenberg, N. (2020, Sept 10). Trump’s newest Supreme Court shortlist is overtly more political. NPR.

Retrieved on Sept 14, 2020 from https://www.npr.org/2020/09/10/911317444/trumps-newest-supreme-court-shortlist-is-overtly-more-political