TASK 1. Read the following and then

TASK 1. Read the following and then answer the questions: Background: Recent Supreme Court Appointments Donald Trump was a one-term president, but most unusually, he is responsible for one-third of the justices on the US Supreme Court today. The previous two-term presidents — Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton — each had two justices appointed. The three of the Trump presidency — Neil M. Gorsuch, Brett M. Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett — were each unique and controversial nominations and represent some of the most problematic aspects of the Supreme Court nomination process today. Trump ran for the presidency in 2016, promising to nominate to the court reliably conservative Supreme Court justices. At the beginning of 2016, the court was made up of five justices nominated by Republican presidents and four by Democratic presidents. They tended to vote in fairly consistent conservative and liberal blocks with many 5-4 decisions. But several of the members were aging and the Republican majority leader in the Senate Mitch McConnell was determined to keep the conservative majority on the court, as Supreme Court justices serve for life once appointed. A conservative think tank, the Federalist Society, joined with the Trump campaign and Republican leadership to make a list of potential conservative nominees for the court. But the first of many unexpected turns happened. In March of 2016, a Republican-nominated and very conservative justice Antonin Scalia suddenly and unexpectedly died, leaving an opening on the court. As was his responsibility, Democratic President Barack Obama placed in nomination Justice Merrick Garland, a very moderate Democrat. But in an unprecedented move the Republican-majority Senate refused to deliberate and vote on the nomination. They insisted on waiting for the completion of the presidential election of 2016 and let the next president name the justice. This had never happened before, and it added fuel to the 2016 campaign. If Hillary Clinton had won, she would flip the court to Democratic advantage, 5-4. If Trump won, it would preserve the Republican advantage, replacing Scalia with another “reliable” conservative. Many political observers argue that this court nomination decision brought out the evangelical vote for Trump in the 2016 election. Trump won and McConnell allowed the delayed process to go forward for Trump’s nominee, Neil M. Gorsuch. He took office April 10, 2017, more than a year after Scalia had died. In the meantime, Anthony Kennedy, a justice appointed by Ronald Reagan in 1988, decided to retire. Trump nominated another justice from the Federal Society’s list, Brett M. Kavanaugh, one of the youngest nominees to the court, at barely 50 years old. The Kavanaugh nomination hearings were highly controversial because a few women came forward and accused him of molesting them when he was a young man in the 1980s. This brought into light decisions and positions he had taken that went against women. Kavanaugh emotionally defended himself, which itself garnered criticism from some Senators who found him lacking in “judicial termperment.” He was finally approved by the Senate, but it went very close to a party-line vote Near the end of the Trump presidency, the eldest judge on the court was Ruth Bader Ginsberg. She had been an outstanding lawyer advocating for women’s rights in the 1970s and 80s, so Bill Clinton succeeded in bringing her to the court in 1993. Ginsberg had had several bouts of illness, specifically cancer, in the 2010s, but decided not to retire during Barack Obama’s presidency. Suddenly, in September of 2020, in the midst of the presidential election, Ginsberg died. In 2016, the Republicans had argued for nine months that they should withhold the nomination process to replace Antonin Scalia until after a new president was elected. Now, the Republican Senate ignored this assertion to quickly proceed with a Trump nomination to the Court — Amy Coney Barrett — just in case Trump lost the 2020 election. McConnell used his power to control the agenda of the Senate and force the nomination process through in an unheard-of pace of about one month and just before Election Day. This had never been done before. Again, the controversial Barrett appointment had a near party-line vote. This also turned the court into a 6-3 Republican nomination-dominated majority. The three Trump nominees are quite young and will probably be on the court for the next 30 years. Court-watchers are dismayed that the nomination process has become so politicized. They yearn for the days when the justices were not so heavily vetted for their political views and moderate swing votes were far more common. 2. It is said that elections have consequences. If Supreme Court justices decide reliably conservative or liberal, as presidents who nominate them hope, then presidential elections are very consequential for the US Supreme Court. The appointment of Gorsuch did not affect the balance of the Supreme Court, as can be seen in the Source. How do you think the appointments of Kavanaugh and Barrett will affect the balance regarding to the following issues? Instructions: Collect information on the internet about Kavanaugh and Barrett and their voting records concerning these three issues and write (30) words summarizing their likely positions. Predict where they would likely fit in terms of ideological bias/influence. Fill in the Comparison Chart Issue Kavanaugh Barrett Abortion Rights Gun Rights Campaign Finance 3. What did Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell do in 2016 to change the nomination process? What did Mitch McConnell do after Ruth Bader Ginsberg died in September 2020? CRITERIA FOR SUCCESS Answer all prompts. Answers should be written 100% (in your words) so that I can assess understanding. Do not copy or quote answers directly from your sources. Please re-state or paraphrase. This assignment allows me to assess comprehension. Turn in work on time. Late work is accepted up to 2 days late, with deductions. No more than 10% of your posts should be directly copied. That which is copied should have citation. Include a source list. SCIENCE HEALTH SCIENCE NURSING POLS 202

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