Some Democratic senators are also subtly trying to force Sotomayor out.
“I have a lot of respect for Justice Sotomayor. I have a lot of respect for her. But I think she really needs to consider the competing factors,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-N.C.). , Konnen) recently said. “We must learn a lesson. And there is no mystery as to what the lesson should be. As the old saying goes, there are no graves left, including us in this physical body. There are a lot of people who shouldn’t be.”
Remember, Blumenthal turned 78 in February. Mr. Sotomayor is 69 years old, so it makes sense that he would say this to him, or to President Biden, who is 81. I Are you too old to stay in an important government job? First of all, you nerds. ”
The lesson Blumenthal is referring to is Democrats’ collective trauma regarding their once beloved Ruth Bader Ginsburg. In 2013, President Barack Obama tried to gently nudge RBG to consider his retirement. She was 80 years old at that time. President Obama referred to the impending 2014 midterm elections and the possibility that Democrats would lose the Senate majority, implying that he could not guarantee that he would be able to appoint a like-minded replacement after 2014. Clearly, Ginsburg was not persuaded. And she lived for another seven years. She certainly had seven more years of excellent law studies left in her heart. Unfortunately for Democrats, her seven-year term expired during President Donald Trump’s tenure, just months before Biden took office in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
When it comes to modern-day Supreme Court justices, 69 is very middle-aged. From 1971 to 2006, the average retirement age for the Supreme Court was 78.7 years. Justice John Paul Stevens retired in 2010 at the age of 90. Sotomayor has diabetes, Her mother traveled with the doctor and lived to be 94 years old. Judges have access to world-class medical care. It is highly likely that she will still serve on the Supreme Court when a president other than Biden or Trump takes the oath of office on January 20, 2029.
Yes, it’s possible that Sotomayor will become too ill to continue playing on the court or pass away within the next five years. But then again, any judge could be hit by a bus tomorrow or have cancer or a stroke.
Why are Democrats nervous about outside mayors? That’s less because of her health and more because of their own fears that Biden’s re-election may not be a safe bet and that they don’t know whether Democrats will control the Senate starting in January. .
Evicting Sotomayor now would seriously discredit the self-proclaimed “enlightened Latina.” She will celebrate her 15th anniversary on the court in August. By the standards of modern history, her retirement in 2024 would be extremely early. Throughout U.S. history, the average length of office for a judge has been approximately 15 years. But in recent decades, his tenure has become much longer. Since 1970, the average tenure of judges has been nearly 28 years.
The current effort to oust the outside mayor represents a dramatic change in the conditions for those nominated and confirmed to the Supreme Court. Appointments to the Supreme Court are legally lifetime appointments, and retirement is at the judge’s discretion. Not surprisingly, nearly everyone who ends up on the Supreme Court becomes one of the nine most important people in this country, deciding which laws are and are not constitutional. I like things.
Now, some Democratic lawmakers are essentially proposing changes to that deal. That is, you are appointed for life as long as the president’s party that nominated you has a good chance of retaining the presidency and a Senate majority. Judges now appear to be obligated to retire early if a Democratic president’s popularity declines significantly during his term, or if the Democratic Senate majority is shaken.
Ms. Sotomayor worked her entire life to reach the highest court in this country. She has every reason to tell Blumenthal and other nervous Democrats to pound sand.
