Three elected members of Congress, five current or past members of his administration: Donald Trump presented on Wednesday a very political list of personalities from which he will draw if he is re-elected and that he must appoint a new judge to the Supreme Court.
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Republican Senators Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton and Joshua Hawley, US Ambassador to Mexico Christopher Landau, or White House Advisor Kate Todd are on this list of 20 names, which completes an initial selection of 24 jurists, presented to the occasion of the 2016 campaign and revised in 2017.
“If there is to be a vacancy on the Supreme Court of the United States during the presidency, my candidate will come from these lists that I have shared with the Americans,” he said in a speech since. the White House intended to galvanize voters on the religious right in the run-up to the November 3 elections.
“One, two, three or even four” of the nine seats on the Supreme Court could become available in the next four years, added Donald Trump, estimating that appointing these senior judges was “the most important decision a president can make. after a declaration of war ”.
The high court, which has nine judges appointed for life by the president and confirmed by the Senate, arbitrates the major debates in American society (abortion, carrying weapons, minority rights, the environment, etc.).
Currently, it has five conservative magistrates, including two appointed by Donald Trump. But some have already defected to vote with their progressive colleagues, to the chagrin of the more traditional circles.
As in 2016, the Republican billionaire courted them by promising them to appoint within the high court only judges faithful to their values. In addition to political figures, his list also includes magistrates known for their positions against abortion or the rights of homosexuals, defenders of religious freedoms or the carrying of weapons.
On the announcement of his selection, Senator Tom Cotton made clear his goals: “It is time to put an end to Roe V. Wade”, he tweeted in reference to the historic judgment of the Court which , in 1973 legalized abortion throughout the United States.
If re-elected, Donald Trump might have the opportunity to use this list, as four judges are over 70, including dean and leftist icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 87. He selected mostly young candidates – the youngest Allison Rushing is 38 – in the hopes of leaving a lasting mark.
In his speech, the Republican billionaire invited his rival, Democrat Joe Biden, to also publish a list, accusing him of silencing his choice “because his candidates are so far left that they would not resist careful public scrutiny ”.
According to him, “if these extremists obtained a majority in the Supreme Court, that would radically transform America”, “by forcing taxpayers to pay for abortions” or “by declaring the death penalty unconstitutional”.
Almost two-thirds of voters, both Republicans and Democrats, consider Supreme Court appointments a “very important” campaign topic, according to a poll by the Pew Research Institute.
With the Republican majority in the upper house, Donald Trump also appointed 200 conservative judges out of the 860 positions in federal courts. On Wednesday, he pledged that by the end of his term, that figure would rise to 300.