Daines and Politico flag Supreme Court stakes if Republicans lose Senate in midterms

Right · 1Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) told Fox News Digital that Republicans should remind unenthusiastic voters that "the Supreme Court's on the ballot" in the midterms, 34 days away at the time. 1 Right · 1Daines said that without a Republican Senate majority, "President Trump will not be able to move his Supreme Court nominee through," and that a nominee would sit on the bench for 25 years. 1 Right · 1Daines, who chaired the National Republican Senatorial Committee in 2024, said he had raised the message with the White House and called it "not a silver bullet, it's a silver buckshot" among several issues Republicans should push. He also urged "disgruntled Republicans in Texas" to back Ken Paxton. 1

Right · 1NRSC spokeswoman Bernadette Breslin said the court "as we know it would cease to exist" under Democratic candidates Troy Jackson, Abdul El-Sayed and James Talarico, whom she accused of wanting to replace it with a "bloated, lawless body." 1 Left · 1Politico, as relayed by Raw Story, reports that Senate Republican leaders are planning how to handle a sudden vacancy with the possible loss of their majority in mind; a Democratic win could let the Senate "shut down confirmations" of Trump's favoured nominees. 2 Mixed · 2Justices Clarence Thomas (78) and Samuel Alito (76) are the oldest on the court; Fox also lists Sonia Sotomayor (72) and Chief Justice John Roberts (71). 1 2

Mixed · 2Signs of an imminent vacancy are scarce: Alito told Bloomberg "I intend to stick around through this term," though he earlier told CBS he had considered retirement and that it is something one must think about "every term." An NPR report of his retirement earlier this year was retracted, and Thomas has not publicly addressed his plans in years. 2 1 Left · 1Majority Leader John Thune said the Senate "would proceed quickly" on a vacancy, and Sen. Thom Tillis said he would "absolutely" support filling an end-of-year seat. Sen. Susan Collins left open a post-election confirmation, saying nominees should be considered as long as it is not close to a presidential election. 2 Mixed · 2Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said taking back the Senate is partly about not letting Trump put "MAGA justices" on the Supreme Court and lower courts. Fox notes Republicans changed Senate rules last year to move bundles of nominees Democrats were blocking, and Raw Story recalls Democratic bitterness over the Merrick Garland blockade. 1 2

Left · 1Politico reported that a vacancy would leave Republicans only five scheduled session weeks to find 50 votes. 2