by Ben Whedon
Democratic wins in key Senate races have set up an uphill battle for President Donald Trump to replace any potentially retiring Supreme Court justices once the opposition takes power in the chamber.
While the Senate abolished the filibuster for Supreme Court nominations long ago, Democrats are set for an outright majority, meaning Trump would need Democratic support to confirm anyone to the bench.
Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis opined on the situation on Wednesday, saying “no Supreme Court justice will be confirmed under President Trump’s administration unless something happens in the next six weeks.”
Republicans can technically confirm replacements in the lame-duck session of Congress, the from the November elections until the new Congress is sat in January of the following year. The Senate is set to go on Christmas recess December 21.
Two conservative justices, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, have attracted speculation that they could retire soon.
In October, Alito told CBS News that he had considered retirement; however, he said he can “still make a contribution.”
“It’s hard to give up the opportunity to do something that I think will be good for the Constitution and good for the country as long as I’m able to do it,” he noted.
“We have stood up for freedom of speech, which is endangered. We have done a lot to protect religious liberty,” Alito noted.
“We have vindicated the principle that the laws should be applied equally to everybody, regardless of race or ethnic background,” he added. “We have tried to restore the original structure of the government as it was set out in the Constitution — but that’s an ongoing project.”
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Ben Whedon is a reporter for Just the News.  Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network and contributed to this story.
