Supreme Court appointment becomes a key U.S. election issue

The death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has set up a political battle between Republicans and Democrats over her replacement. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he will nominate her successor within a week while Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said the next day that if he wins the election, President Trump’s nominee should be withdrawn. With the conservative and liberal blocs rallying around the issue, a new Supreme Court justice has become a key issue of the presidential election slated for Nov. 3.

Speaking in Philadelphia, a notable battleground state, Mr. Biden said President Trump’s push to nominate Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg’s successor only 40 days before the presidential election is “abuse of power” and Americans will not stand for it. He stressed that if he wins the election, President Trump’s nominee should be withdrawn. A Reuters/Ipsos online poll released on Sunday found that 62 percent of Americans agreed the Supreme Court vacancy should be filled by the new president.

According to Axios, Democrats are considering options, including expanding the number of Supreme Court justice from the current nine to 13. The Democratic Party, which currently has control of the Congress, aims to win control of both the Senate and the Congress at the elections held on the same day as the presidential election. Even if President Trump pushes for Supreme Court nominee, Democrats are likely to add liberals to the Supreme Court using their congressional majority.

President Trump is putting Mr. Biden under pressure to release a list of potential Supreme Court justice nominees supposedly in an attempt to stimulate the anxiety of conservative voters, who fear that Democrats will appoint a liberal Supreme Court justice. The Washington Post wrote that if Biden wins the election, he would nominate the first Black woman to the Supreme Court. The Biden camp turned down President Trump’s call to release a list of Supreme Court nominees, saying they do not have plans to do so.


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