What is the current composition of the Supreme Court?

What does the US Constitution say about appointing Supreme Court justices?

The President “by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States” (Article 2, Section 2).

After the president announces his nominee, what happens?

President’s Nomination

The president nominates a candidate and submits the name of the candidate to the Senate. The constitution gives the President the power to choose nominees for key government jobs and select members of the judicial branch, subject to Senate approval.

White House Review

Members of the executive branch will review the qualifications and experience of the nominee. This ensures that other members of the executive branch approve of the nominee and helps verify that the nominee is qualified for the position.

Paperwork and Financial Disclosure

The nominee fills out lots of forms and discloses personal, professional and financial information to allow the media and Senate to identify areas they would like to question the nominee on, and ensure there is no conflict of interest.

FBI Investigation

The FBI investigates the nominee for past actions and possible encounters with the law. They will also interview family, friends, colleagues to ascertain the qualities and conduct of the nominee in the past.

Senate Confirmation Hearings

Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee interview and question the nominees about a wide range of topics related to their qualifications and past cases. The Senate hearings ensure that representatives from the legislative branch have an opportunity to verify the nominee’s qualifications, experience and past conduct.

Senate Vote

The full senate confirms or rejects the appointment of the nominee by a majority vote. The majority vote from the Senate ensures the legislative branch is in favour of the executive branch’s nominee or rejects it because they feel the person isn’t qualified.

What is the role of the Senate Judiciary Committee in this process?

As soon as the president’s nomination is received by the Senate, it is referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Judiciary Committee sends the nominee a questionnaire. The questionnaire requests the nominee’s biographical, financial and employment information, and copies of the nominee’s legal writings, opinions issued, testimony and speeches.

The Judiciary Committee holds a hearing on the nomination. The nominee makes an opening statement and then answers questions from the Committee members. The hearing can take several days and the questioning can become politically partisan and intense.

After the hearing is completed, Committee members are given one week to submit written follow-up questions. The nominee submits written responses.

Finally, the Committee votes on the nomination. The Committee can vote to send the nomination to the full Senate with a recommendation of either approval or rejection. The Committee can also vote to send the nomination to the full Senate without a recommendation.

What type of biographical information does a nominee need to provide?

• Education: List each college and law school you have attended, including dates of attendance, degrees received and dates degrees were granted.
• Employment record: List (by year) all governmental agencies, businesses or profesional corporations, companies, firms, or other enterprises, partnerships, institutions, and organizations, nonprofit or otherwise, with which you are or have been connected as an officer, director, partner, proprietor, or employee.
• Writings and Speeches: (a) List the titles, publishers, and dates of books, articles, reports, letters to the editor, editorial pieces, or other published material you have written or edited. Please supply one copy of all published material to the Committee.
• Citations: Please provide: (a) Citations for all opinions you have written (including concurrences and dissents).

What type of financial information does a nominee need to provide?

• List sources and amounts of all income received during the calendar year preceding your nomination and for the current calendar year, including any salaries, fees, dividends, interest, gifts, rents, royalties, patents, honoraria, and other items of $500 or more.

What type of political information does a nominee need to provide?

• Have you ever held a position or played a role in a political campaign? If so, please identify the particulars of the campaign, including the candidate, dates of the campaign, your title and responsibilities.
• The American Bar Association’s commentary to its Code of Judicial Conduct states that it is inappropriate for a judge to hold membership in any organization that . . . discriminates on the basis of race, sex, or religion. Please list all business clubs, social clubs or fraternal organizations to which you belong or have belonged since graduating from law school . . . .
• Has anyone involved in the process of selecting you as a judicial nominee (including, but not limited to a member of the White House staff, the Justice Department, or the Senate or its staff) discussed with you any specific case, legal issue or question in a manner that could reasonably be interpreted as seeking any…assurances concerning your position on such case, issue, or question? If so, please explain fully.
• Please discuss your views on the role of the judiciary in our governmental system and the . . . criticism involving “judicial activism.”

How does the whole Senate consider the nomination?

After receiving the recommendation of the Judiciary Committee, the full Senate holds its own hearing and debates the nomination. The Chairman of the Judiciary Committee leads the Senate hearing. The senior Democratic and Republican members of the Judiciary Committee lead their party’s questioning. The Senate hearing and debate typically take less than a week.

Finally the full Senate will vote on the nomination. A simple majority vote of the Senators present is required for the nomination to be confirmed.

What things will President Trump consider when choosing a nominee?

It is not a simple matter for the president to make a Supreme Court appointment. Many factors can influence the choice, and the consequences for the president and his or her political party can be dramatic even if the nominee is approved.

Ideology

The factor that draws the most political and media attention is the ideology of the nominee. The president wants to appoint someone who agrees with his or her views. A president who opposes abortion would want a justice who shares that opposition. A president in favor of legalizing gay marriage would want someone who shares that viewpoint. However, there are a lot of issues to worry about, and it is nearly impossible to find a candidate that is a “perfect fit” on all of them.

Senate Majority

Even if the president finds a candidate with the desired outlook on important issues, those issues might come into conflict with the majority in the Senate. If the Senate is ruled by the opposing party, the president will have a difficult time getting a confirmation on a nominee with radical views. If the president’s party controls the Senate, it will be much easier to confirm a nominee with views in line with that party, but it could still have a political cost in terms of public approval.

Presidential popularity

The president’s popularity with the public is an important factor. If the president has low popularity, or popularity is evenly split, then pushing through a nominee with views that are perceived as “outside the mainstream” can galvanize opposition to the president and his party, leading to potential defeats in upcoming elections. This also explains why nominees who are named closer to an upcoming election tend to be more moderate — the president doesn’t want to anger the public

Outgoing Justice

The political leaning of the outgoing justice plays a role in the politics of nomination as well. If a retiring justice is a political liberal, Senate liberals might fight a conservative candidate tooth and nail in order not to lose a seat on the Court that supports their ideology. In that case, the president might do better to nominate a moderate candidate. If the outgoing justice is a conservative, however, the Senate liberals might accept a conservative appointment as maintaining the status quo.

Who has Trump interviewed for the job so far?

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