Trump Rushes To Announce Court Pick by July 11 While Dems Demand Delay

Donald Trump is behaving like a man who knows his time is short.  He got his wish of a retirement from his pal Justice Anthony Kennedy and now it is being reported that he will announce his replacement pick by July 11th.  Clearly this is a man in a hurry.

While Trump is trying to rush through a conservative Supreme Court Justice who will probably try to undo decades of precedent and take away Americans’ constitutional rights, Democrats are saying that he needs to slow down and wait because of the impending criminal charges against the president.

According to the Daily Beast: 

“President Trump’s rush to select a replacement for Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy kicked into high gear late Thursday as he met with lawmakers to discuss the high-stakes vacancy and apparently try to woo key Democrats. The president is reportedly hoping to announce his pick before he departs for the NATO summit in Brussels on July 11, but he faces major opposition from Democrats who fear his pick for the post will give the federal judiciary a conservative slant for decades to come.”

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Meanwhile, in Iowa, a group put out a statement demanding that Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley “must not move forward with another theft on behalf of a President who is being investigated by the Justice Department for obstruction of justice and collusion with a foreign government.”

Also on Thursday Some Democratic senators were arguing that there be no Supreme Court nominee until after the November elections, AND that the while the president remains under criminal investigation Kennedy’s seat should remain open.

During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Thursday, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey said that it was not proper for the president to choose a new justice since a challenge to the Russia investigation will probably end up before the Supreme Court at some point in the future.

“We could be participating in a process that could undermine that criminal investigation,” Booker said.

According to the Daily Beast Trump met on Thursday with three red-state Democratic senators: Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, and Joe Manchin of West Virginia.

Since those three Democratic senators voted to confirm Trump’s first Supreme Court pick, Neil Gorsuch, last year, they are seen as the key to any possible attempt by Democrats in the Senate to delay or deny Trump’s appointment to the Court.

Leo Vidal

I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.