Two Supreme Court justices will essentially be chosen by 0.02 percent of Americans
The 2016 presidential election is proving to be extremely consequential for the future of the Supreme Court.
Because President Trump's win was earned through Electoral College votes, not the popular vote, it was essentially a tiny fraction of Americans who led to Trump's opportunity to choose two Supreme Court justices, an NBC News reporter pointed out Wednesday.
Just 80,000 votes across three different states were a deciding factor in the presidential race, reports Mark Murray. Once Trump took office, he appointed Justice Neil Gorsuch, a conservative constitutionalist. Now that Justice Anthony Kennedy is retiring, there will be another seat open, and Trump has already signaled that he plans to nominate a conservative replacement as quickly as possible.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
If Trump succeeds in confirming another justice without Democrats blocking the nominee, that would mean that the miniscule fraction of Americans who made the difference in the 2016 election — roughly 0.02 percent of the U.S. population — played a major role in bringing two conservative justices to the nation's highest bench.
Don't let anyone tell you that your vote doesn't matter.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.
-
Democrats eye a new strategy after Trump victory
The Explainer Party insiders and outside analysts are looking for a way to recapture lost working-class support
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Crossword: November 27, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sudoku hard: November 27, 2024
The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Judge blocks Louisiana 10 Commandments law
Speed Read U.S. District Judge John deGravelles ruled that a law ordering schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms was unconstitutional
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
ATF finalizes rule to close 'gun show loophole'
Speed Read Biden moves to expand background checks for gun buyers
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Hong Kong passes tough new security law
Speed Read It will allow the government to further suppress all forms of dissent
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
France enshrines abortion rights in constitution
speed read It became the first country to make abortion a constitutional right
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Texas executes man despite contested evidence
Speed Read Texas rejected calls for a rehearing of Ivan Cantu's case amid recanted testimony and allegations of suppressed exculpatory evidence
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Supreme Court wary of state social media regulations
Speed Read A majority of justices appeared skeptical that Texas and Florida were lawfully protecting the free speech rights of users
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Greece legalizes same-sex marriage
Speed Read Greece becomes the first Orthodox Christian country to enshrine marriage equality in law
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump and his lawyer Alina Habba have a rough day in defamation court
Speed Read Trump's audible grousing as E. Jean Carroll testified earned him a warning he could be thrown out of court, and Habba showed she 'doesn't know what the hell she's doing'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published