Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer just drew a hard line: with Democrats taking the Senate after Tuesday’s midterms, he says his party will not confirm a Trump-picked “right-winger” to the Supreme Court.
In an interview with the Associated Press on Thursday, Schumer would not say whether Democrats would hold a vacancy open until after the next presidential election — the move Republican Mitch McConnell used in 2016. But he left little doubt about the standard.
“The bottom line is we’re not going to allow a right-winger on the court,” Schumer said.
He added that Democrats are “not going to allow any crappy nominees” for the Supreme Court, lower federal courts, or Trump’s Cabinet.
The pledge lands two days after Democrats flipped the Senate in a midterm blowout few predicted a year ago. Schumer says Democrats could hold as many as 56 seats if they also win the still-uncalled races in Mississippi and Alaska — what he calls a “durable majority.”
That majority would give Democrats the power to reject Trump nominees and force more moderate choices, Schumer argued, while also pressing to halt the Iran war and reverse policies Democrats could not stop in the minority.
Schumer said the party’s agenda will center on lowering costs — healthcare, housing, Trump’s tariffs, childcare, and energy bills — and that Democrats plan to investigate ICE raids and scrutinize an administration he called the “most corrupted administration by far in American history.”
Asked about a third Trump impeachment, Schumer said that was “up to the House,” while saying he would support impeaching Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. On eliminating the filibuster, he would not commit, saying only that “the focus has got to be on getting things done.”
Conservatives have already noted that Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito have signaled they plan to stay through the current Supreme Court term, making an immediate vacancy less likely. Schumer’s message is about the next two years: if a seat opens, Democrats say a Trump hardliner will not get confirmed.