What we know
What we know: Republicans rammed through Supreme Court nominees. Now Democrats will have the votes to stop them
Compiled Nov 6
What we know
- Trump named three Supreme Court justices in his first term, creating a conservative supermajority
- Democrats will hold at least 54 Senate seats next year, with results in Mississippi and Alaska still to be finalized
- Schumer said Democrats will not allow a 'right-winger' on the Supreme Court
- Neither Justice Alito (76) nor Justice Thomas (78) has publicly indicated an imminent retirement
- Alito said he will stay on the court through the end of the term next summer and won't step down during a lame-duck period
- Trump effectively pushed out Sen. Thom Tillis, and Democrat Roy Cooper won that North Carolina seat
What we don’t know yet
- Schumer declined to say whether he would hold any Supreme Court vacancy open until after the next presidential election
- Trump said in April he did not know whether he would have another vacancy this year
- Final Senate results in Mississippi and Alaska were not yet determined
Open questions
- Will either Justice Alito or Justice Thomas retire before Democrats take control of the Senate?
- Will Schumer commit to blocking any Supreme Court nominee regardless of qualifications?
- What names are on Trump's shortlist for potential Supreme Court nominees?
- How will the final Senate results in Mississippi and Alaska affect Democrats' majority size?
Drawn from the Associated Press report. “What we don’t know” lists only what the reporting itself flags as unresolved.