• Analysis
Schumer says Democrats will block Trump supreme court nominees
Chuck Schumer, the incoming Senate majority leader, told the Associated Press that Democrats will block Donald Trump from placing a rightwinger on the US supreme court when the new Congress convenes in January.
What Schumer pledged
Chuck Schumer said in an interview with the Associated Press that Democrats intend to use their new power from January to keep Donald Trump from shifting the supreme court further to the right.
"The bottom line is we're not going to allow a rightwinger on the court," Schumer said.
He added that Democrats would not confirm "any crappy nominees" to the supreme court, the lower courts or Trump's cabinet, and said he expects his party to have enough strength to reject nominees and stop other Trump policies.
The numbers behind the threat
The vow rests on the majorities Democrats won in the midterms, when they took back both chambers of Congress.
- •Democrats have secured 54 Senate seats for the next Congress, rising to 56 if their candidates in Mississippi and Alaska win the still-uncalled races there.
- •In the House, Democrats will hold at least 253 seats after flipping more than 40, as of Friday morning.
Vacancy speculation on the court
Any block depends on a supreme court vacancy opening, and the bench is ageing: four justices are in their 70s, led by Clarence Thomas at 78 and Samuel Alito at 76.
Trump's first-term nominations of Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett built the current 6-3 conservative majority, and Thomas and Alito have six weeks left of a Republican Senate that could in theory confirm a Trump appointee - though Thomas has given no sign of retiring.
Alito has pushed back on retirement talk: he told Fox News on Thursday that he intends to remain a justice until this term ends, whatever the Democrats' sweeping win means for the Senate.
Other Democratic plans
Blocking trump supreme court nominees is not the only use Democrats plan for their majorities. Some are preparing investigations into Trump and members of his administration, and Robert Garcia, the incoming House oversight committee chair, warned Republicans on Tuesday evening to "lawyer up".
Legislative priorities include restoring the Medicaid cuts from Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" and halting funding for the war in Iran. Trump, however, has indicated he plans to veto any bills he does not agree with, while Schumer counts on Democratic strength to reject nominees and stop other policies once the new Congress convenes in January.
