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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsClarence Thomas may be next to leave
Justice Clarence Thomas, a reliable conservative vote on the Supreme Court, is mulling retirement after the presidential election, according to court watchers.
Thomas, appointed by former President George H.W. Bush and approved by the Senate after a bitter confirmation, has been considering retirement for a while and never planned to stay until he died, they said. He likes to spend summers in his RV with his wife.
His retirement would have a substantial impact on control of the court. The next president is expected to immediately replace the seat opened by the death of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, providing a one-vote edge in the court that is currently divided 4-4.
Should Thomas leave, that slight majority would continue if Donald Trump becomes president. If it's Hillary Clinton, then she would get the chance to flip two Republican seats, giving the liberals a 6-3 majority.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/thomas-may-be-next-to-exit-supreme-court/article/2594317
Bucky
(54,094 posts)maybe I'm just getting cynical in my old age
Gothmog
(145,965 posts)louis c
(8,652 posts)This election isn't about Hillary or even Trump.
It's about the Supreme Court. It has become a political entity, and we need to control it, because if we don't, the other side will.
GulfCoast66
(11,949 posts)Without Scalia telling him how to vote.