One vacancy. One choice. One chance not to blow it.
In 1990, George H.W. Bush, listening to then-White House Chief of Staff John H. Sununu, nominated David Souter to the U.S. Supreme Court. Sununu, who as governor of New Hampshire had nominated Souter to the Granite State’s supreme court in 1983, assured Bush that Souter would be a “home run” for the conservative cause.
That’s not what happened.
Souter quickly lurched leftward, joining the 1992 court majority in Planned Parenthood v. Casey that upheld the core abortion “right” holding of Roe v. Wade. By the time of his retirement in 2009 — a decision that paved the way for Barack Obama’s nomination of Sonia Sotomayor — Souter had established himself as a reliable vote for the court’s liberal bloc. The conservative legal movement, which was ascendant at the time, responded with a unifying rallying cry: “No more Souters.”
That cri du coeur means more than “no more liberals.” For conservatives, what it means — or at least what it once meant — is no more “stealth” selections to the nation’s highest court. There will be no more simply taking the John Sununus of Washington at their word. Rather, a nominee must have a demonstrable track record of integrity, courage, intellectual consistency and across-the-board excellence.
It’s unclear whether conservatives have ever learned their lesson. George W. Bush gave us the superb Samuel Alito, but he also gave us the fickle John G. Roberts. In his first term, Donald Trump made three picks to the high court; none are (yet) a Souter-like betrayal, but they are also not stalwarts like Alito and Clarence Thomas.
This summer, conservatives may have yet another opportunity to prove they have finally learned their lesson. If the opportunity arises, they better not blow it.
There is a very real chance Thomas or Alito retires after the current Supreme Court term ends (and there is an outside chance it could be Roberts). In gaming through the likelihood of a conservative nominee being confirmed by the Senate, keep in mind that that chamber is very much up for grabs this November. Democrat recapture of the Senate this fall would force the court’s conservative senior statesmen to hold onto their jobs for a few more years, placing a high-stakes wager on Republicans maintaining the White House and retaking the Senate in 2028.
That’s quite a gamble. --->READ MORE HERE
Washington is buzzing with the possibility that President Donald Trump might name one or more Supreme Court justices before the November midterm elections.In a conversation with Fox Business TV host Maria Bartiromo on April 15, 2026, Trump discussed the potential retirement of Justice Samuel Alito, 76, the reliably conservative justice appointed by President George W. Bush in 2005.
Trump praised Alito as “a great justice” and said that he is prepared to appoint a replacement, should Alito retire.
Trump added, “In theory, it’s two – you just read the statistics – it could be two, could be three, could be one.”
Trump didn’t say who the other potential retiring justices are. Speculation from pundits is that he is referring to Justice Clarence Thomas, 77, another solid conservative vote. Thomas, appointed by George H.W. Bush in 1991, is the court’s oldest justice and longest-serving member.
In the same Fox interview, Trump pointed to former Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who was under intense pressure to retire during President Barack Obama’s presidency. Ginsburg opted to stay on the bench and died in September 2020.
Republicans blocked Obama’s appointment of Merrick Garland in 2016 after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Then, in 2020, Trump replaced Ginsburg with Justice Amy Coney Barrett, solidifying a 6-3 conservative majority.
As a scholar of the Supreme Court confirmation process, I know the timing of Trump’s comments is closely linked to November’s midterm elections.
If Democrats were to take over the Senate following the midterms, it is very unlikely they would confirm a Trump-appointed Supreme Court nominee. Instead, they would probably follow the precedent set by Republicans in 2020 and block a Trump pick.
The clock is ticking on November’s midterm elections, and Democrats’ chances of taking back the Senate are improving. Assuming a current Supreme Court justice retires, here’s what has to happen for Trump and Senate Republicans to successfully confirm a successor.
The Supreme Court confirmation process
The Constitution says that the Senate provides “advice and consent” on presidential appointments to the Supreme Court. Over the course of the nation’s history, this has developed into a complex process. --->READ MORE HERE
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