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NEWS JULY 6, 2020 ¦ 15

Conservatives Seize on Supreme
Court Losses to Push Trump Vote

By Jacqueline Thomsen

When the Senate confirmed Supreme Court, repeating a move
President Donald Trump’s from his 2016 campaign that many
200th federal judge last view as having won over otherwise
week, legal conservatives cheered wary Republican voters.
the remarkable milestone. But recent Despite its past success, that strat-
rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court egy is now facing fresh skepticism.
keeping protections for “Dreamers,” Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican
LGBTQ rights in the workplace and member of the Senate Judiciary
Monday’s decision striking down a Committee, recently told Politico he
Louisiana abortion clinic law have believes Trump should not release
those on the right arguing Trump’s another list if it’s drafted in the same
judicial work is far from done. U.S. Supreme Court Chief way as prior iterations, arguing re-
Trump has reshaped lower courts Justice John Roberts Jr. ligious conservatives should play a

and appointed Justices Neil Gorsuch Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM bigger role in the process.
and Brett Kavanaugh to the bench, shifting the court’s “I think they feel just shocked at what’s going on
ideological balance to the right. However, Chief Jus- with the Supreme Court, so I think it’s vital that they
tice John Roberts—widely viewed as the bench’s new be heard from and involved in this process,” said
center vote—has joined liberal justices to create ma- Hawley, who previously clerked for Roberts.
jorities in cases where conservatives hoped to win, Other conservatives, including Leonard Leo of The
clouding their other achievements on the courts. Federalist Society, who was involved in the nomina-
It’s highly likely that whoever wins the Novem- tions of Gorsuch and Kavanaugh, have defended the
ber presidential election will get to select at least process. Severino on Monday said Trump releasing
one justice, with two members of the court’s liberal an updated list is “exactly the correct thing for the
bloc—Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 87, and Stephen Brey- president to do.” And she predicted the new version
er, 81—at retirement age. will feature a number of Trump’s nominees who are
Conservatives who have been able to successfully currently sitting on federal courts.
run on the courts are energized to do so again, citing Conservatives acknowledge that a bench with
their recent losses as reason they need to build an Roberts, who they argue is ruling to protect the rep-
even stronger majority on the Supreme Court. utation of the court over what the law calls for, is an
“Returning the courts to the rule of law has always improvement on past versions of the court without
been a very motivating issue for those on the right,” said a Republican-appointed majority. Statements from
Carrie Severino, president of the conservative Judicial right-wing groups issued in the wake of Monday’s
Crisis Network. “We’ve long experienced the courts abortion ruling drove home the importance of en-
usurping the legislative process to simply come to legal suring the court’s ideological balance is left up to the
results. This term, unfortunately, is no different. I think GOP and not Democrats in the coming years.
that’s something that will continue to motivate voters.” “It is imperative that we re-elect President Trump
and our pro-life majority in the U.S. Senate so we
‘Just Shocked’
Trump recently announced he would once again can further restore the judiciary, most especially
release a list of potential justices to tap to the U.S.
¦ Continued on PAGE 16

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