The Supreme Court’s Future Could Be Shaped by Trump for Generations
News Analysis
President-elect Donald Trump’s potential second term has the opportunity to establish him as one of the most significant presidents in shaping the U.S. Supreme Court. By potentially securing a lasting originalist majority, his tenure could have a lasting impact on the court.
Despite recent criticisms of the court by Democrats, the results of the 2024 elections may diminish their ability to obstruct Trump’s nominees and implement reforms to curb conservative influence on the court. With Republicans projected to gain control of the U.S. Senate, Trump could have a two-year window to nominate new conservative justices to the Supreme Court in case any of the current justices decide to retire. Currently, neither of the most senior justices, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, have announced any retirement plans.
Federalist Society Chairman Leonard Leo stated, “No one other than Justices Thomas and Alito knows when or if they will retire, and talking about them like meat that has reached its expiration date is unwise, uninformed, and, frankly, just crass.”
If Trump eventually appoints two more justices, he could become the first president since former President Dwight D. Eisenhower to have five of his nominees serve on the Supreme Court.
Changes to Precedent
Chief Justice John Roberts’s court has been described as incrementalist, but recent decisions have raised doubts about the stability of longstanding precedents. Trump’s appointees—Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett—have already played a role in major shifts in American law, notably in overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022.
Conservatives view these decisions, along with Dobbs, as upholding an originalist approach that seeks to adhere to the Constitution’s original intent. This approach could continue if Trump selects justices from the extensive list of judges appointed to federal courts during his first term.
(Front Row R–L) Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, his wife Jane Sullivan, Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, his wife, Virginia Thomas, and Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito attend the memorial service for former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor at the National Cathedral in Washington on Dec. 19, 2023.
Jim Watson/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Judicial Crisis Network President Carrie Severino told The Epoch Times that if Trump wanted to appoint more originalists to the Supreme Court, he wouldn’t have to “look any farther than the appellate judges” he appointed during his first term.
“If he picks from that short list he himself has created, then I think we’re going to have an awesome continuation of the …
