THE EVE OF ANNOUNCEMENT | What To Expect When You’re Expecting a Nominee
January 30, 2017
'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE ANNOUNCEMENT
|Last week PRESIDENT TRUMP tweeted that we would hear of his Supreme Court pick on Thursday, February 2. But no, no, that ain’t so. Today, the president tweeted that he will announce tomorrow evening, live at 8 PM in primetime from the White House, who he plans to put on the highest court in the land. Stay tuned as we share the top news and commentary as the story unfolds!
SHOW ME THE MONEY
|POLITICO’s Shane Goldmacher reports that in anticipation of the impending Supreme Court fight—now set to kick off with tomorrow night’s announcement—Trump and his allies are “moving to sharpen a battle plan” and are “now prepared to unload at least $10 million in ads backing the nominee—much of it directed at Senate Democrats up for election in 2018 in states Trump carried.” In a meeting Friday to strategize around the Supreme Court nomination, one person said: “The Supreme Court is a big fricking deal.” How astute.
SUUUPER SUSS
|“Trying to suss out how closely PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP’S potential U.S. Supreme Court nominees are to the late JUSTICE ANTONIN SCALIA is not, of course, an act of science. Three recent reports, however, attempt to do just that, weighing the ‘Scalia-ness’ of the next high-court nominee.” Marcia Coyle with The National Law Journal reports on these “scientific” reports and their findings.
YOU KNOW VERY WELL WHO YOU ARE
|The man widely thought to be topping DONALD TRUMP’S SCOTUS short list, JUDGE NEIL GORSUCH, is apparently “naturally equipped” for his spot on that list, as Robert Barnes with The Washington Post reports. Word has it, he resembles the man he might replace, as a textualist and a proponent of originalism. In a speech last spring, Gorsuch told an audience in Cleveland, “The great project of JUSTICE SCALIA’S career was to remind us of the differences between judges and legislators.”
WITH SO MUCH DRAMA IN D.C. KINDA HARD TO BE ME
|Before we get too carried away, Noah Feldman writing for Bloomberg says SCALIA’S replacement won’t be as originalist as his or her predecessor. Feldman: “TRUMP’S nominee will be a conservative originalist, to be sure. But he likely will not be someone who makes originalism his life’s work. And from the standpoint of jurisprudence, that’s a good thing in the long run.”
WHEN YOU'RE EXPECTING
|Adam Liptak with The New York Times considers how a new justice might “revitalize” the court’s conservative bloc and return the balance of power to the right, save for the occasional votes of JUSTICE ANTHONY M. KENNEDY. Liptak says abortion rights “appear secure, for now,” as does affirmative action, but public sector unions and anyone who cares about the environment should be shaking in their boots.
ICYMI
|The weekend’s news can be best characterized by scenes of protestors in airports across the country responding to DONALD TRUMP’S executive order restricting immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries. As of late last night, the Department of Homeland Security said that about 375 travelers had been affected by the order, 109 of whom were in transit and denied entry to the United States. Another 173 were stopped by airlines before boarding.
WITH A VOW TO DEFEND
|Saturday night, U.S. District JUDGE ANN DONNELLY of Brooklyn issued an order blocking PRESIDENT TRUMP’S executive order restricting immigration from the seven designated countries. She wasn’t alone either. Federal judges in at least four other states—California, Massachusetts, Virginia and Washington state—issued orders similar to Donnelly’s. None of these rulings strike down the EO, but they do complicate the administration’s efforts to enforce it.
#NOBANNOWALL
|Democrats are holding a rally later today at 1 First Street to call on PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP to rescind his executive order. The protest will be led by CHUCK SCHUMER and NANCY PELOSI, and all Members have been invited to join and “express [their] solidarity.”
ONLY THE BEGINNING
|Ruthann Robson, professor of law at City University of New York School of Law, is one of many legal scholars now saying DONALD TRUMP’S immigration executive order is likely to face many more legal challenges and could even be thrown out on grounds that it violates the equal protection clause of the Constitution. Michael Kranish and Robert Barnes with The Washington Post report.
TOP-ED
|In the Los Angeles Times, DEAN ERWIN CHEMERINSKY berates DONALD TRUMP’S executive order on immigration calling it both “unconstitutional” and “inhumane.” He writes, “Barring individuals fleeing persecution from entering the U.S. is simply inhumane. Adding irony to injury, Trump’s executive order was issued on Holocaust Remembrance Day, which should have been an occasion to atone for turning away refugees during the 1930s—some of whom died in concentration camps. For example, in 1939, the United States turned away the St. Louis, a boat filled with refugees, many of them German Jews. According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 254 passengers from the St. Louis died in the Holocaust.” (h/t Mike Armitage for sharing)
FOR GOLF LOVERS ONLY
|“DONLAD TRUMP is not only the U.S. president; he’s also a golf industry giant. And like other golf operators, he has a stake in the legal wrangling over a new environmental rule that could dent industry profits. Here’s where Trump is different from his peers: He gets to name the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, and this week, the president may appoint a nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, which soon will hear a case involving the environmental rule.” That’s Greg Allen reporting for NPR.
ON THE ROAD
|The day before she’s to learn of who her new colleague might be, JUSTICE SONIA SOTOMAYOR plans to speak at the University of Michigan today alongside a judge from Germany’s highest court, Justice Susanne Baer of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany. The pair will speak at morning and evening events as part of the university’s Big Blue commemoration of its bicentennial.
SCOTUS Reviews
Mr. President, use a litmus test to choose your Supreme Court nominee
Los Angeles Times“Fear of a confirmation fight shouldn’t steer the new president away from a constitutional conservative and toward a constitutional cipher. Otherwise he will have abandoned his duty to advance constitutional principles and surrendered to the status quo. That is no way to make America great again.”
Rule of Law 1, Trump's Immigration Ban 0
Bloomberg“It’s beginning. The legal system’s constitutional defense against President Donald Trump’s policies won its first battle this weekend…Trump can appeal the injunction, and he likely will. The federal appellate courts will get into the game, and maybe the U.S. Supreme Court. We’ve only seen the kickoff and the return, not even the first few minutes of what will be a long game. But the legal momentum is already against Trump acting unilaterally. That’s good for the rule of law—for now.”
Trump's Unconstitutional Attack on Sanctuary Cities
ReasonRoot argues that President Trump’s executive order denying federal funds to sanctuary cities “debases” the Constitution in three significant ways, and he takes us through each of them.
OTHER NEWS
High Court Precedent May Limit Trump's 'Sanctuary City' Order
The Wall Street Journal“A thicket of Supreme Court rulings could limit the reach of the executive order issued by President Donald Trump last week meant to prod ‘sanctuary cities’ into helping the federal government enforce immigration law.”
Could California really become its own country?
Constitution Daily“There is now a movement afoot by a group seeking a ballot referendum in California for that state to become its own sovereign nation. It’s not actually a new idea, but it is one that faces extremely long odds.”