Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer says his party will not confirm a Trump “right-winger” to the Supreme Court after Democrats take the Senate, and he warns that vetoes of cost and anti-corruption bills could make 2028 worse for Republicans than 2026.
What Schumer told AP
In a Thursday interview with The Associated Press, Schumer said Democrats will not allow President Donald Trump to put “a right-winger” on the Supreme Court once they control the chamber.
He would not say whether Democrats would leave a seat empty until after the 2028 presidential election, the way then-Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell held open a vacancy in 2016. Schumer did say Democrats are “not going to allow any crappy nominees” for the Supreme Court, lower courts, or Trump’s Cabinet, according to the AP summary carried by outlets including the Joplin Globe.
There is no current Supreme Court vacancy. The comments mark how Democrats plan to use their new Senate majority on judges once the new Congress meets in January.
The 2028 veto warning
The same day, Schumer spoke at a Center for American Progress Action Fund event in Washington. According to EFE, he said that if Trump spends the next year vetoing “common-sense” laws meant to cut costs and curb corruption, the Republican “catastrophe” in the midterms would look like “a good day” next to 2028.
Trump said on election night, after Democrats’ wins became clear, that he would veto “everything,” EFE reported.
Schumer also told Democrats not to treat one election as permanent. He called the new Congress “only the first step” and listed three priorities: lower costs, make government work for people, and fight corruption.
How Republicans are answering
Senate Republican leader John Thune has already floated a different timeline. On Wednesday he told reporters he would not rule out confirming a Supreme Court justice in the lame-duck session before Democrats take over. “It can be done,” Thune said, pointing to roughly 60 days after the election, according to reporting amplified on Townhall.
The White House had not issued a specific response to Schumer’s Thursday AP interview by late afternoon Eastern time.
What this means for you
- Judges: A Democratic Senate can refuse hearings or votes on Trump court picks, including any future Supreme Court nominee.
- Lame duck: Republicans still hold the Senate until early January and say they could try to fill a vacancy first if one opens.
- Legislation: Schumer is tying Trump veto threats to the next presidential race, while Trump has pledged broad vetoes of Democratic bills.
Neither side is naming a specific justice who might retire. The fight is over who would control the next confirmation if a seat opens in the next two years.
Sources: AP via Joplin Globe, AP, EFE via Infobae, C-SPAN clip, Townhall on Thune lame-duck comments
