Will Trump-appointed Supreme Court justices rule in his favor on impeachment? History suggests not.

(Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

published 27 November 2019

The Supreme Court is expected to be a neutral arbiter, but there's a sense that could be put to an "existential test" in this hyperpartisan era, The Washington Post reports.

Yet, history suggests the Court likely won't split when it comes to legal questions concerning the president, even though there are two Trump appointed justices on the bench. It's not the first time justices have had to deal with cases crucial to the president who nominated them, after all.

The Post notes that three justices appointed by former President Richard Nixon joined the unanimous ruling requiring him to turn over the now-infamous, eponymous tapes in a criminal investigation resulting from Watergate, which eventually led to his resignation. Another justice, William Rehnquist, even recused himself because he had previously worked in the Nixon administration (some people argue the Trump-appointed Justice Brett Kavanaugh should do the same, the Post reports).

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.

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