'Look on the bench': Court reporter details Trump SCOTUS architect’s '3-D chess' on retiring justices

As Donald Trump already considers his strategy to re-stack the US Supreme Court over the course of his second term, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor "is said to be pushing back against calls for her to step down so President Biden can replace her with another liberal justice before leaving office," CNN's Brianna Keilar noted Monday.

CNN's Boris Sanchez weighed in, noting that there are "concerns she may not be able to serve through the end of" the president-elect's term." She's 70 years old and has Type 1 diabetes. "But the process of trying to confirm a supreme court justice is wrought and complicated on its own, never mind in a truncated window with an incoming administration," he added.

CNN chief legal affairs correspondent Paula Reid emphasized, "That's exactly right. Even with a qualified nominee, this is something that takes months and unlikely they'd be able to get someone confirmed by sources say she is not stepping aside. But we're also seeing these questions percolate on the other side, for the conservatives. Some Trump allies raising questions whether justices Thomas or Alito should step aside and let Trump, President-Elect Trump, once in office, appoint younger successors to solidify his conservative majority."

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The court reporter added that "Leonard Leo, who is widely credited of the architect of Trump's very successful strategy to create that supermajority, and stack the court with conservative justices — he entered the chat, and he pushed back on these calls saying, 'No one other than Justices Thomas and Alito knows when and if they will retire. And talking about them like meat that's reached its expiration date is unwise, uninformed and frankly just crass.'"

"Notable he weighed in here," Reid emphasized. "We have to remember, these justices, they have no bosses. They don't tend to take kindly for calls to step down. The ghost of [former Justice] Ruth Bader Ginsburg looms large here. And remember with Justice Breyer — there were calls for him to step down in President Biden's first year, and he took two years before he stepped aside. So it could be a bit of three-dimensional chess here not wanting to pressure the justices."

Finally, Reid added, "Of course, the goal is maintain that super majority as long as possible. But in talking to sources, it's clear that Leo really wants to draw a contrast with Democratic groups that really did try to pressure Breyer to step down, saying, 'Look, we don't do that.' But we know there's always a strategy when it comes to the court. So it'll be interesting to see if these calls get louder as Trump gets closer to inauguration day."

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