Commentary: No Reason for Senate GOP to Wait Until After Election to Confirm Trump’s Ginsburg Replacement to Supreme Court

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is under enormous pressure from his Democratic colleagues not to confirm whoever President Donald Trump may nominate to replace the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court before the election.

But in truth, there is simply no reason, neither constitutional nor political, for Trump and McConnell to wait at all.

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Pelosi Says ‘Large Number’ of Dems Wanted Her to Shut Down Government to Stop GOP Filling Court Vacancy

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that she rejected calls from fellow Democrats outside of the chamber who wanted her to shut down the federal government over the Senate GOP’s handling of the Supreme Court vacancy.

“I have the privilege of being a leader in the most diverse party in every possible way including opinion. A large number of people outside, not in the House, but outside wanted me to shut down government because of what they’re doing on Justice Ginsburg. Shut down government? I’m not a big believer in shutting down government,” she

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Commentary: Dear GOP Senate, Please Get This Right!

As Jack Nicholson said in “Terms of Endearment,” you were just inches from a clean getaway.
Armed with a wholly unimpressive list of accomplishments from the past four years, with the exception of confirming hundreds of federal judges, you were prepared to return home to defend your paltry record with little more than the argument that the other side is much, much worse. Which, lucky for you, is true.

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Senate GOP Lines up with Trump to Quickly Fill Court Seat

Senate Republicans have swiftly fallen in line behind President Donald Trump’s push to fill the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Supreme Court seat as one of the last holdouts, Sen. Mitt Romney, said Tuesday he supports a vote despite Democrats’ objections it’s too close to the Nov. 3 election.

Trump, who will announce his nominee Saturday, is all but certain to have the votes to confirm his choice.

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Democrats Say They Will Pack the Court if Republicans Vote to Replace Ginsburg in 2020

Prominent Democrats are threatening to expand the size of the Supreme Court to cancel out President Donald Trump’s court picks if Republicans vote on late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s replacement this year.

Left-wing activists have been pushing Democratic politicians to endorse court-packing since Justice Anthony Kennedy’s 2018 retirement cleared the way for Justice Brett Kavanaugh to join the high court. Some congressional Democrats embraced the idea following Ginsburg’s death Friday night.

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Democrats on Filling a SCOTUS Vacancy in 2016: ‘A Responsibility to Vote’

Several Democratic leaders favored a Senate confirmation vote for President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Judge Merrick Garland in 2016.

Following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, Obama nominated Garland, who had been the chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell vowed to block a confirmation vote for Garland until after the 2016 presidential election, The Washington Post reported.

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TRUMPDATE: Latest from the Team Trump Virginia Campaign for September 21

Welcome to another Monday edition of our daily Virginia Trump campaign update! We will provide our readers with daily updates on the Trump Virginia campaign from today to November 3 (and after…if need be!).

It’s officially 43 days until the election on November 3 – and 8 days until President Trump and Joe Biden square off in the first presidential debate.

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Biden in 2016: SCOTUS Confirmation Can Happen ‘a Few Months Before a Presidential Election’ If Senate Is Involved in Pick

Former vice president Joe Biden said in 2016 that he would have considered a Supreme Court justice nominee in an election year if the president had consulted the senate on the nominee.

“I would go forward with the confirmation process as chairman even a few months before a presidential election. If the nominee were chosen with the advice and not merely the consent of the Senate just as the constitution requires,” Biden said during a 2016 speech at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

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Commentary: For the Sake of the Constitution, and the Country, Fill Ginsburg’s Seat Quickly

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died Friday at the age of 87. Her passing was not unexpected. On the contrary, her steadily worsening condition over the past several years left her increasingly incapacitated. After Donald Trump’s election in 2016, many on the Left expressed dismay that she chose to stay on the court rather than resign and let President Obama nominate her replacement. 

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Trump Promises to Nominate a New Justice ‘Without Delay’

President Donald Trump promised Saturday to nominate a new Supreme Court justice “without delay.”

“We were put in this position of power and importance to make decisions for the people who so proudly elected us, the most important of which has long been considered to be the selection of United States Supreme Court Justices,” the president tweeted Saturday morning, tagging the Republican Party in his tweet.

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After Ginsburg: McConnell Pledges Quick Vote on Successor

The death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg just over six weeks before the election cast an immediate spotlight on the high court vacancy, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell quickly vowing to bring to a vote whoever President Donald Trump nominates.

McConnell, in a statement just over an hour after Ginsburg’s death was announced, declared unequivocally that Trump’s nominee would receive a vote, even though he had stalled President Barack Obama’s choice for months ahead of the 2016 election, eventually preventing a vote.

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Trump Readying Potential Supreme Court Nominee List Including Former Michigan Supreme Court Justice Robert Young

President Donald Trump is preparing to again release a list of potential Supreme Court nominees, one that voters can compare to rival Joe Biden’s promise to nominate a Black woman to the high court if given the chance.

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told reporters at the White House on Tuesday that Trump’s list will be released soon. “I’m optimistic that you’ll see those SCOTUS picks in coming days,” Meadows said.

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Trump Admin Asks Supreme Court to Require in Person Doctors Appointment for Women Seeking Abortion Pills

Supreme Court of the United States

President Donald Trump’s administration asked the Supreme Court on Wednesday to reinstate a requirement that a woman must visit her health care provider to obtain abortion drugs.

“Given that surgical methods of abortion remain widely available, the enforcement of longstanding safety requirements for a medication abortion during the first ten weeks of pregnancy does not constitute a substantial obstacle to abortion access, even if the COVID-19 pandemic has made obtaining any method of abortion in person somewhat riskier,” acting Solicitor General Jeffrey Wall said, according to CNN.

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Opioids, Violence and the Supreme Court Largely Omitted from DNC Convention Speeches

Democrats focused on coronavirus, climate change, racial inequality and more during their party’s convention, but none pf the keynote speakers mentioned rising violence in cities across the country or the opioid epidemic during the primetime program.

The two issues have been worsening in part due to nationwide unrest and the pandemic, media reports and studies say. The Supreme Court — a large focus of the 2016 election — was also largely ignored.

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US Supreme Court Denies Nevada Church’s Appeal of Virus Rule

A sharply divided U.S. Supreme Court denied a rural Nevada church’s request late Friday to strike down as unconstitutional a 50-person cap on worship services as part of the state’s ongoing response to the coronavirus.

In a 5-4 decision, the high court refused to grant the request from the Christian church east of Reno to be subjected to the same COVID-19 restrictions in Nevada that allow casinos, restaurants and other businesses to operate at 50% of capacity with proper social distancing.

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Justice Ginsburg Says Cancer Has Returned, but Won’t Retire

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said Friday she is receiving chemotherapy for a recurrence of cancer, but has no plans to retire from the Supreme Court.

The 87-year-old Ginsburg, who has had four earlier bouts with cancer including pancreatic cancer last year, said her treatment so far has succeeded in reducing lesions on her liver and she will continue chemotherapy sessions every two weeks “to keep my cancer at bay.”

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Justice Ginsburg Treated in Hospital for Possible Infection

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was being treated for a possible infection and was expected to stay in the hospital for a few days following a medical procedure, the Supreme Court said in a statement Tuesday.

The court said that the 87-year-old Ginsburg went to a hospital in Washington on Monday evening after experiencing fever and chills. She then underwent a procedure at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore on Tuesday afternoon to clean out a bile duct stent that was placed last August when she was treated for a cancerous tumor on her pancreas.

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Commentary: Trump Tax Cases Highlight the Court as Servant of the Administrative State

The president was not whining when he tweeted about the continuing “political prosecution” permitted by the two tax returns cases issued Wednesday by the Supreme Court. These two cases, although short-term wins for Trump, illustrate the role of the federal and state courts in the administrative state and reveal the burdens this conglomeration places on a reforming president. Let’s take the worst of the bad news first.

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The Supreme Court Keeps Trump Taxes Private for Now

Rejecting President Donald Trump’s complaints that he’s being harassed, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday in favor of a New York prosecutor’s demands for the billionaire president’s tax records. But in good political news for Trump, his taxes and other financial records almost certainly will be kept out of the public eye at least until after the November election.

In a separate case, the justices kept a hold on banking and other documents about Trump, family members and his businesses that Congress has been seeking for more than a year. The court said that while Congress has significant power to demand the president’s personal information, it is not limitless.

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Commentary: Supreme Court Rules Right in Case About Soros-Backed Organization Wanting US Foreign Aid to Go to Anti-American Groups

The Supreme Court has upheld the right of the United States government to distribute aid to foreign organizations in accordance with American interests. The June 29 decision in Agency for International Development v. Alliance for Open Society International represents a significant win for the protection of American freedoms.

The case affirms a vital principle of U.S. foreign involvement, one dear to the heart of the American taxpayer—U.S. money spent abroad must support U.S. interests and priorities. If a foreign organization wants our money, it cannot violate American positions.

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Despite Supreme Court Win, Energy Companies Cancel $8 Billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline

The developers of the long-delayed, $8 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline announced the cancellation of the multi-state natural gas project Sunday, citing uncertainties about costs, permitting and litigation.

Despite a victory last month at the United States Supreme Court over a critical permit, Dominion Energy and Duke Energy said in a news release that “recent developments have created an unacceptable layer of uncertainty and anticipated delays” for the 600-mile project designed to cross West Virginia and Virginia into North Carolina.

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Supreme Court to Determine Whether Congress Can See Redactions in the Mueller Report

The Supreme Court announced Thursday that it will hear a case that will decide whether Congress can see redacted portions of former special counsel Robert Mueller’s report into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

The case’s arguments will most likely be heard in the fall after the presidential election, and the Supreme Court will likely reach a decision in 2021, The New York Times reported. The case came after the House Judiciary Committee requested grand jury documents the Department of Justice redacted from the Mueller report.

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Conservatives Praise Supreme Court for Ruling States Can’t Discriminate Against Religious Schools

The U.S. Supreme Court said Tuesday that states can’t cut religious schools out of programs that send public money to private education in a 5-4 ruling. 

Hailed as a victory for religious freedom, the justices upheld a Montana scholarship program that allows state tax credits for private schooling in which almost all the recipients attend religious schools.

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Conservatives Call Out Chief Justice John Roberts on Abortion Ruling: ‘He’s a Disgrace’

by Mary Margaret Olohan   Conservatives are turning against Chief Justice John Roberts after the Supreme Court justice sided with liberal judges in a monumental abortion ruling. Chief Justice John Roberts sided with liberal members of the court in the close 5-4 ruling, writing that “the Louisiana law imposes a burden on access to abortion just as severe as that imposed by the Texas law, for the same reasons.” Pro-lifers and conservatives alike had anxiously awaited Robert’s decision on the landmark abortion ruling, worrying that Roberts might side with the liberal justices based on his previous votes earlier in June. Conservatives ripped into Roberts Monday following news of the decision.  Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk called the chief justice “a disgrace” while former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee condemned Roberts as “an empty black robe.” Political commentator Dinesh D’Souza labeled “a sizable majority of #SCOTUS justices” including Justices Souter, Kennedy, and Roberts, “unreliable turncoats.” Republicans have nominated a sizable majority of #SCOTUS justices, yet one after another—from Souter to Kennedy to Roberts—they have proven to be unreliable turncoats. The conservative strategy of naming judges supposedly faithful to “original intent” is now a confirmed failure — Dinesh D'Souza (@DineshDSouza) June 29, 2020 “Roberts has destroyed any credibility the Court may have…

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SCOTUS Abortion Case May Be in The Hands of Chief Justice Roberts

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts may play a pivotal role in a the first major SCOTUS abortion place to occur during President Donald Trump’s administration.

Both Roberts and Justice Neil Gorsuch joined the court’s four liberal judges in a landmark decision June 15 that federal law protects LGBT employees from discrimination, while Roberts joined the liberal justices in a ruling announced Thursday that the Trump Administration could not terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

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Commentary: Immortalizing Bureaucracy

Just as the infamous Dred Scott case in 1857 would have extended slavery throughout America, so Thursday’s decision in Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California threatens to make the machinations of bureaucratic government supreme and unrepealable.

Chief Justice John Roberts’ 5-4 court opinion strengthens the grip of the administrative state – the interlocking network of bureaucracy and political correctness – over the democratically elected branches that are supposed to make us a nation of self-governing citizens.

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Commentary: Chief Justice Roberts Pushes Final DACA Decision Past 2020 Election

The Supreme Court’s new Leftwing majority, led by the once allegedly conservative Chief Justice John Roberts, has issued two bizarre rulings this week, the latest being in the case of Department of Homeland Security et al. v. Regents of the University of California et al. which addressed the Trump administration’s effort to end the Obama Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

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Commentary: Supreme Court Bypasses Congress Legislates Radical Homosexual Agenda from Bench

In a ruling that shocked conservatives and religious liberty advocates, the Supreme Court, in a 6-3 vote, ruled Monday that a key provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects gays, lesbian and transgender people from discrimination in employment.

The court held that a key provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 known as Title VII that bars job discrimination because of sex, among other reasons, encompasses bias against LGBT workers.

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Supremes Revive Permit for Pipeline Under Appalachian Trail

The Supreme Court on Monday paved the way for a critical permit for a proposed natural gas pipeline that would cross under the Appalachian Trail, siding with energy companies and the Trump administration.

The justices ruled 7-2 to reverse a lower court ruling that had thrown out the permit for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. It would bring natural gas from West Virginia to growing markets in Virginia and North Carolina. Its supporters say the pipeline would bring economic development, thousands of jobs and reduced energy costs for consumers.

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Justices Rule LGBT People Protected from Job Discrimination

The Supreme Court ruled Monday that a landmark civil rights law protects gay, lesbian and transgender people from discrimination in employment, a resounding victory for LGBT rights from a conservative court.

The court decided by a 6-3 vote that a key provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 known as Title VII that bars job discrimination because of sex, among other reasons, encompasses bias against LGBT workers.

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Supreme Court Urged to Rethink Legal Immunity for Police Officers Amid Floyd Protests

The Supreme Court is weighing petitions to reexamine legal immunity that protects officers from being sued in instances of brutal arrests, use of excessive force and the shooting of innocent people in their homes.

The call for reassessment comes during nationwide protests of police brutality, the most recent instance being the death of George Floyd. Floyd died on May 25 after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes, video of the incident shows.

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Supreme Court Delays Federal Prison Inmates’ Release in Ohio

The U.S. Supreme Court has granted the federal government’s request to delay the release of medically vulnerable inmates at a federal prison in eastern Ohio where hundreds have tested positive for the coronavirus.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued the brief order Thursday evening — staying an order from a lower court to speed up the inmates’ release — until the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules in the matter.

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SCOTUS Rejects Request from California Church to Block Worship Restrictions

The Supreme Court rejected a request from a church to block California’s restrictions on religious services.

South Bay United Pentecostal Church of Chula Vista, California, filed a petition over Memorial Day weekend saying that Gov. Gavin Newsom’s coronavirus restrictions “arbitrarily discriminate against places of worship in violation of their right to the Free Exercise of Religion under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution,” according to CNN.

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SCOTUS Grants Trump’s Request, Temporarily Blocks Disclosure of Mueller’s Grand Jury Documents

Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court temporarily blocked House Democrats on Wednesday from gaining access to a trove of grand jury documents from former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian intervention in the 2016 election.

The Court granted the Trump administration’s emergency request to keep the materials secret while the president’s legal team works to appeal their release. The House Judiciary Committee went to the Court to gain access to the redacted material from Mueller’s 2019 report after the Department of Justice declined to produce the information upon Democrats’ request.

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Ohio Supreme Court Upholds Law on Takeovers of Underperforming Schools

The Ohio Supreme Court recently upheld a law that changed how the state intervenes with schools that consistently perform poorly. The court ruled on Wednesday in favor of the constitutionality of a law that shifts the operational control of a poorly-performing school from the elected school board to unelected CEOs hired by state-appointed academic distress commissions.

Youngstown, Ohio, argued that the law stripped school boards of its power, according to AP News. The court said the school boards are currently set up in a way that does not require school board to receive any specific power.

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Encouraging Illegal Aliens to Remain in the US Is a Crime, Supreme Court Rules

The Supreme Court unanimously upheld a federal statute that forbids encouraging illegal aliens to remain in the U.S. unlawfully in a decision Thursday.

The Supreme Court justices voided an earlier decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which had ruled that a federal anti-harboring statute was unconstitutional on the grounds that it violated the First Amendment by restricting free speech. The ruling by the nation’s highest court Thursday upholds the law.

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Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Has Been Released from the Hospital

  Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been discharged from the hospital following a brief stay for a non-surgical gallbladder treatment, according to CNN. “She is doing well and glad to be home,” a short statement from the Supreme Court read. “The Justice will return to The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, for follow-up outpatient visits over the next few weeks to eventually remove the gallstone non-surgically.” On Tuesday Ginsburg was hospitalized on Tuesday, according to a Supreme Court press release. “Following oral arguments on Monday, the Justice underwent outpatient tests at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C., that confirmed she was suffering from a gallstone that had migrated to her cystic duct, blocking it and causing an infection,” the press release said. Ginsburg, who is 87 years old and the oldest member of America’s highest court, has fought numerous ailments over the last couple of years. In 2019, the Democratic Supreme Court Justice underwent successful treatment for a malignant tumor on her pancreas. Ginsburg told CNN in January that she was cancer-free. In 2018, the justice fractured three ribs after falling in her office. Then a month later, she underwent surgery for a left-lung lobectomy. President Bill Clinton appointed…

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Democrat Pelosi Praised Kavanaugh Accuser Christine Ford’s ‘Courage,’ But Ignores Biden Accuser Tara Reade

Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi supported and praised Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s accuser Christine Blasey Ford, but has maintained silence on 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden’s accuser Tara Reade.

Ford leveled accusations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh in September 2018, launching a media onslaught and a series of congressional hearings into the allegations against the now-Supreme Court justice. Throughout these events, Pelosi expressed support for Ford.

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