This fall, the Republicans and Democrats in the Senate will wrestle over a very important decision. It is about someone whose job is making very important decisions. They will decide if Brett Kavanaugh should become the newest Justice of the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court can decide whether or not an action by a President or Congress is allowed by the Constitution. First, its members must be selected by the President and approved by the Senate.
There are nine Supreme Court Justices. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy is retiring. President Donald Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh to replace him. He chose Kavanaugh because he has political beliefs similar to his own. Now, the Senate must have hearings [meetings to gain information about a candidate] and vote on whether or not they will confirm [give approval to] Kavanaugh as a Supreme Court Justice.
Recently Democrats and Republicans have seriously disagreed about the Supreme Court. In President Barack Obama’s final year as president, the Senate would not hold hearings on his nomination for the Supreme Court. Obama was a Democrat and the majority of the Senate were Republicans. The Senate said it was too close to an election. The next president should make the choice. Republican Donald Trump won the election and he was allowed to appoint that Supreme Court Justice.
Many Democrats are still upset about this. They say that the Senate should not vote on Brett Kavanaugh until after the midterm elections this November. There are currently 51 Republicans in the Senate and 49 Democrats. This means there may be more Democrats than Republicans after the midterm elections. They will try to either delay the hearings on Kavanaugh or convince all Democrats and two Republicans to vote against his confirmation.
What Do You Think? How important do you think a person’s political party should be when deciding if a judge is qualified for the Supreme Court?
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