She was supposed to have the foresight to assume that the six months or so when they had a majority (when they passed ACA) was the last time Democrats would have the slightest hope of appointing a new supreme court justice.
The house does not vote on judges. Only the Senate. Obama had a friendly Senate until Jan 2015. They could even have done it during the lame duck session. But in reality the Senate was widely forecasted to change control so she could have retired in the spring without controversy.
But they didn’t have the supermajority necessary to overcome a filibuster anymore. Even the cloture rule enacted in 2013 excluded supreme court nominations.
She was supposed to have the foresight to assume that the six months or so when they had a majority (when they passed ACA) was the last time Democrats would have the slightest hope of appointing a new supreme court justice.
What a fool she was! Not knowing the future!
The house does not vote on judges. Only the Senate. Obama had a friendly Senate until Jan 2015. They could even have done it during the lame duck session. But in reality the Senate was widely forecasted to change control so she could have retired in the spring without controversy.
But they didn’t have the supermajority necessary to overcome a filibuster anymore. Even the cloture rule enacted in 2013 excluded supreme court nominations.
And that would have been gone in a hot second if they blocked RBG’s replacement. They removed exactly what they needed to confirm judges.