Supreme Court Associate Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2025, in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla/Pool via REUTERS
Members of the GOP and the MAGA movement are beginning to freak out, per a new report from The Daily Beast, as their historic midterm thrashing makes a Supreme Court nightmare suddenly all too real.
As the report explained, the new reality in Washington has definitively turned President Donald Trump into a lame duck, with a fully Democratic-controlled Congress unlikely to pass much or any of his legislative agenda. It also raises the very real possibility that Trump would not be able to fill a potential Supreme Court vacancy, should one arise in the last two years of his second term.
Such a vacancy feels entirely within the realm of possibility, given the persistent retirement rumors swirling around the court's most conservative justices, Samuel Alito, 76, and Clarence Thomas, 78. Given their advanced age, there is also the possibility that either man might pass away while still serving.
The Daily Beast's report noted that outgoing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is among the most prominent names on the right warning that Democrats in Congress might use their majorities to block a Trump SCOTUS. Former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell infamously did the same thing after Antonin Scalia passed in the final year of Barack Obama's presidency, claiming, with no precedent, that a vacancy in an election year must wait for a new president to be elected. At minimum, it seems likely that Democrats would block any Trump nominee that is too extreme or far-right.
DeSantis suggested that such a roadblock would persist even in the unlikely scenario that a Republican wins the White House in 2028.
“Assuming Republicans lose the seats where prediction markets have the Democrats at 90+% to win, that would produce 55 Democrat Senate seats,” DeSantis posted to his official X account. “Chance of confirming a worthy successor to Justice Thomas and/or Alito during President Trump’s term: Zero. Chance of confirming a worthy successor during a hypothetical GOP admin 2029-2033: probably zero (GOP won’t be able to recapture enough seats in 28).”
Other figures in the MAGA-sphere were also quick to weigh in.
“One of the worst outcomes as a result of the a—— beating we’ve seen tonight… Liberal Supreme Court?” Michael Flynn Jr., son of Trump's contentious former national security adviser, said.
"We needed to replace Alito and Thomas while we had the chance. Now we’re f——," far-right influencer Joey Mannarino posted.
"Massive Democrat takeover of Senate means: 1. Trump will not be able to appoint any justices or judges during his last two years in office (absent one-sided deal in favor of Dems)," conservative lawyer Ed Whelan posted. "2. If a Republican is elected president in 2028, that president will not be able to appoint any justices or judges until Republicans regain the Senate. Given the deep hole, that might not happen until 2033."
He added: “3. I’d be extremely surprised if any justice announces resignation now (for end of term) in hope of lame-duck confirmation of successor. Among other things, it’s highly doubtful that Rs would have the vote to confirm,” Wheelen added. “If Sherrod Brown wins Ohio seat, he gets sworn into Senate in early December, so Senate becomes 52R-48D. Collins and Murkowski would be unlikely to support anyone Trump would nominate. John Cornyn, Thom Tillis, and Bill Cassidy aren’t going to be eager to do Trump any favors. And there are other senators — e.g., John Curtis of Utah — who would be leery of anyone Trump would be eager to push through.”
