Donald Trump recently held rallies in New York and California, states he has no hope of winning at the presidential level. But should he return to the White House, he knows he will need the U.S.
House and Senate in Republican hands to become a full-frontal authoritarian. The legislative branch of government is where the laws get made, and Republicans are hoping that, come 2025, they can loosen regulations on gun ownership, further curb abortion rights, gut Social Security and Medicare, and cut taxes on the wealthy. Although we’ve already written about building a bulwark in the Senate against the GOP’s undemocratic machinations, we want to reiterate that the Senate is the body that gives thumbs up or down to Supreme Court nominations — Trump got to pick three, and they were instrumental in granting presidents sweeping immunity for “official acts” while in office.
We’ve already seen what Trump did when he was new to government and unsure of just how far he could push past the restraints of democracy. Trump 2.0, should it come to pass, will not only be an immunity smorgasbord of self-dealing and violent attacks on dissent, it will also be an opportunity to cement the current ultra-conservative SCOTUS majority for generations, if any justices retire or die.
(There are currently three septuagenarians — Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Sonia Sotomayor — and Chief Justice John Roberts is 69.) So, before we get to crucial House races, we’ll revisit three Senate ra.