Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has called on Republican senators not to support Donald Trump's idea of ​​appointing a new Supreme Court justice until November's presidential election.

“Our voters must be heard ... according to the constitution, they must decide who has the right to carry out such an appointment.

Trying to push this appointment through the Senate is just a show of brute political power, ”Biden said during his speech in Philadelphia.

According to Biden, if he wins the presidential elections on November 3, then he should be able to appoint a new judge of the Supreme Court.

At the same time, the politician does not intend to publish his list of potential candidates for the posts of judges of the Supreme Court, since they may allegedly be subject to political pressure and this may affect their work in their current status.

So far, it is only known that Biden intends to nominate an African-American woman to the Supreme Court if he wins the election.

  • Joe Biden

  • Reuters

  • © Mark Makela

Mutual criticism

Debate over the appropriateness of appointing a new Supreme Court judge prior to the presidential election has intensified since the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

The judge, who had served for 27 years, passed away on September 18 at the age of 87 due to complications related to cancer.

Ginsburg was the second woman in US history to become a Supreme Court Justice.

On September 20, Donald Trump announced that he would soon present his candidate for the post of a Supreme Court judge.

The head of the White House clarified that a woman could become one.

Earlier, the president named Amy Connie Barrett, Barbara Lagoa and Allison Jones Rushing as possible candidates, who were appointed by him to the posts of judges of the federal appeals courts.

All three candidates are known for their conservative views and enjoy the support of the conservative part of the American establishment.

  • Candles lit in memory of Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg

  • © Joshua Roberts / Reuters

Note that on September 10, Donald Trump officially presented during a speech at the White House a list of 20 people who can be considered for appointment to a life-long position of the Supreme Court judge.

Among the candidacies are incumbent Republican Senators Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton and Josh Hawley, as well as Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron.

This list was supplemented by the list of candidates for the highest judicial office presented by Trump in 2017.

At the same time, Trump called on his campaign rival Joe Biden to name his list of possible candidates for the US Supreme Court.

Trump warned of the danger that the dominance of the "left-wing radical" in the Supreme Court could pose to traditional American values.

According to Trump, such judges will overturn the second amendment to the US Constitution (guarantees American citizens the right to keep and carry weapons. 

- RT

), erase national borders and abolish the death penalty.

“Joe Biden refused to publish his list of candidates, probably because he realizes that they are so leftist that they will not be able to withstand public scrutiny or get their candidature approved.

He must release the list of judges so that people can properly decide how they will vote.

It is very important that he does it, ”Trump said.

As Yuri Rogulev, director of the Franklin Roosevelt Foundation for the Study of the United States at Moscow State University, explained in an interview with RT, Donald Trump hints that Biden may present very unexpected candidates in the future.

“But this is an unfounded accusation, since Biden is not now president and is not obliged to publish his lists of candidates,” the expert said.

Andrei Sidorov, head of the department of international organizations and world political processes at the Faculty of World Politics at Moscow State University, believes that the Democrats are acting prudently, not yet publishing their lists of candidates for the post of Supreme Court judges.

“The Democrats are in the minority in the Senate, they should act very carefully and not put forward their lists.

However, this gives Trump the opportunity to criticize them, "the expert noted in a commentary on RT.

Balance of power

However, Trump's plans could be thwarted if Republicans in the upper house of Congress refuse to support his initiative.

To date, two Republican senators have already spoken out against the idea of ​​nominating a replacement for the late Ginsburg before the presidential elections in the country.

This point of view is shared by Senator Susan Collins from Maine and Senator from Alaska Lisa Merkauski.

“For several weeks now I have been saying that I will not support the appointment of a candidate in the Supreme Court at such a close to the elections,” said Liza Merkauski.

- Unfortunately, hypothetical assumptions from the past have become reality today.

However, my position on this matter remains the same. "

  • U.S. Senate

  • © Consolidated News Photos / CNP / AdMedia globallookpress.com

As the senators explained, their decision was influenced by the story of 2016, when Republicans blocked the appointment of one of nine Supreme Court justices to the appellate judge Merrick Garland.

He was nominated by Barack Obama after the death of Judge Antonin Scalia, a staunch conservative who has held office for 30 years.

Republican senators then refused to consider Garland's candidacy, citing the fact that a judge should be appointed by the new US president.

At that time, there were about nine months left before the presidential elections in the country.

As Merkauski noted, now there is even less time left before the end of the presidential campaign, so the same approach should be applied to this situation as in 2016.

According to Andrei Sidorov, the fact that some Republican senators expressed their readiness to go against the party position is explained by the fact that they either have their own presidential ambitions or are guided by their local electorate and are trying to take an objective position.

“In addition, there are those among the Republicans who have gone over to the side of the Democrats, take a vacillating position or are going to side with the winner of the upcoming presidential elections.

However, the Trump administration will put pressure on senators in every possible way so that the decision on the new judge of the Supreme Court is made before the elections, ”the expert said.

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he intends to hold a vote in the upper house of Congress on Trump's nomination for the new Supreme Court Justice.

In addition, McConnell appealed to Republican senators to exercise caution in the current situation.

“In the coming days, we will all find ourselves under tremendous pressure from the press to announce how we will carry out the upcoming appointment.

For those of you who do not know what to answer to this, or those who do not want to vote for the candidate, I will say: be on the lookout, "- quoted by NBC News McConnell's letter to the senators.

According to experts, it is no coincidence that the issue of appointing a new Supreme Court judge has caused so much controversy in US political circles.

As noted by Yuri Rogulev, this can become an important factor in the balance of power between Republicans and Democrats and affect the outcome of the elections.

  • Session of the US Supreme Court

  • © Drew Angerer / Getty Images / AFP

“For example, the outcome of the 2000 elections, in which Gore and Bush participated, was decided by the Supreme Court, which ruled to stop the recount, which helped the Republicans to win,” the expert recalled.

Andrey Sidorov adheres to a similar point of view.

According to the expert, now in the Supreme Court there is a preponderance not in favor of the Democrats.

And if Trump and the Senate approve another judge, this imbalance will widen.

“If, based on the results of the upcoming vote in November, there are discrepancies as to who exactly won - Biden or Trump, the final word will be with the Supreme Court.

Therefore, it is critically important for the political establishment how many judges are in liberal positions and how many are in conservative ones, ”Sidorov stressed.

In addition, the expert added, the winner in any case will have to work with the Supreme Court in the future to pursue its course - the court can determine how constitutional a particular rule is.