Reuters

Harris or Trump, next president will have less impact on shape of US judiciary

Published

3 months ago

October 17, 2024

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By Nate Raymond

October 17, 20249:33 PM GMT+6Updated 29 min ago

Item 1 of 2 The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, U.S., October 8, 2024. REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon/File Photo

[1/2]The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, U.S., October 8, 2024. REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

Oct 17 (Reuters) – No matter which candidate wins the U.S. presidential election, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump will face one similar reality: fewer opportunities to reshape the federal judiciary.

By the time Democratic President Joe Biden leaves office, he and Trump, his Republican predecessor, will have within just eight years appointed about half of all 890 life-tenured federal judges nationally.

Trump named three U.S. Supreme Court justices to Biden’s one, giving it a 6-3 conservative supermajority. Both presidents favored younger appointees overall on the judiciary, creating a generational shift on the federal bench.

Thanks to these demographics, the supply of judges eligible to take “senior status” – a form of semi-retirement judges can take at 65 after 15 years of judicial service that creates a vacancy on the bench for the president to fill – is shrinking.

Sixty-seven vacancies currently exist on the federal bench or are expected to open up based on judges’ announced plans to take senior status, but Biden already has nominees awaiting Senate consideration to fill 28 of them, according to data maintained by the judiciary.
, opens new tab

Another 247 judges – 131 appointed by Democratic presidents and 116 by Republicans – will be eligible to move into semi-retirement over the next four years, opening new vacancies, according to an analysis by the American Constitution Society, a progressive legal group.

Chart of federal judges eligible to take senior status by the end of 2028, based on an analysis by the American Constitution Society.

But judges do not always retire when they become eligible to do so, and research shows that judges are increasingly timing their retirements to when a president of the same party as the one who appointed them is in office.

If that trends holds, the victor of the Nov. 5 presidential election faces the prospect of placing far fewer judges on the bench by the end of their term than the 234 judges Trump appointed, the second most of any president over a four-year term, and the 213 so far appointed by Biden, who ranks third.

Democratic former President Jimmy Carter retains the record for the most judicial appointments in a single term, 262.

ALTERING THE BALANCE

The opportunity to significantly alter the ideological balance of the judiciary’s top echelon – the U.S. Supreme Court, which leans heavily conservative thanks in part to Trump’s appointments when he was president – also seems limited.

Three justices are in their 70s – conservatives Clarence Thomas, 76, and Samuel Alito, 74, and liberal Sonia Sotomayor, 70 – and are seen as the most likely to potentially retire, depending on the election’s outcome.

Trump’s or Harris’ ability to appoint judges could be further constrained by which party in the election wins control of the U.S. Senate, which confirms judicial nominees. Democrats face a tough fight to preserve their narrow 51-49 Senate majority.

But numbers are not everything. Some judges, thanks to which court they sit in or their judicial philosophy, can become more influential than others. And, as both Trump and Biden learned, those judges can issue rulings that can block the White House from fully implementing its agenda.

Jake Faleschini, justice program director at the progressive Alliance For Justice Action Campaign, said even with fewer vacancies, a second Trump White House would have the ability to stack appeals courts with what he called “hyper-extremist” judges by promoting ones he already appointed.

He pointed to Florida-based U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee who dismissed the classified documents criminal case against the former president, and U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Amarillo, Texas, who suspended approval of the abortion pill mifepristone. The U.S. Supreme Court in June preserved access to the pill, overturning an appellate court ruling that partly upheld Kacsmaryk’s decision.

Mike Davis, a Trump ally and founder of the conservative judiciary-focused advocacy group Article III Project, called Cannon an example of the type of “bold and fearless judges” who he hoped Trump would appoint more of in a second term.

“As president, he appointed constitutionalist judges who interpret the law as written, and he will do so again when voters send him back to the White House,” Brian Hughes, a senior Trump campaign adviser, said in a statement.

The Harris campaign did not respond to requests for comment.

Faleschini said he hoped Harris would, like Biden, “enter into the presidency with a similar focus on both demographic and professional diversity on the bench.” A majority of Biden’s judicial nominees have been women or people of color.

Davis said a Harris White House would “transform the lower courts into judicial activists,” with appointments designed to create a “left-wing” judiciary.

“The next president will finish the transformation of the judiciary one way or the other,” he said.

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Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Jonathan Oatis

Reuters

Podcaster Joe Rogan endorses Donald Trump for president

Published

3 months ago

November 5, 2024

electionlive_gcw35j

By Kanishka Singh

November 5, 20249:16 AM GMT+6Updated 4 hours ago

Item 1 of 2 Oct 20, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Joe Rogan talks to fans in the paddock at the Formula 1 Pirelli United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. Mandatory Credit: Aaron E. Martinez-Imagn Images/File Photo

[1/2]Oct 20, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Joe Rogan talks to fans in the paddock at the Formula 1 Pirelli United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. Mandatory Credit: Aaron E. Martinez-Imagn Images/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

WASHINGTON, Nov 4 (Reuters) – Popular podcaster Joe Rogan, who recently interviewed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for nearly three hours, said on Monday he has endorsed the former president in the race to the White House.

Trump faces Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the Nov. 5 U.S. election in what polls show to be a tight race. Harris has got multiple celebrity endorsements.

“For the record, yes, that’s an endorsement of Trump,” Rogan said on X while posting a clip of his interview with billionaire Elon Musk, who has also endorsed Trump. Rogan said in his post that Musk made the “most compelling case for Trump.”

Trump’s recent interview with Rogan lasted about 3 hours and was released on YouTube and Spotify in late October. The two discussed a range of topics and the interview got over 45 million views on YouTube.

The former president criticized Rogan in August on Truth Social, his social media platform, after the podcaster praised then-independent candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. Kennedy has since pulled out of the race and endorsed Trump. Trump later called Rogan a “good guy.”

Trump and Harris have courted voters with appearances on podcasts, in addition to more traditional rallies and media interviews.

Spotify (SPOT.N), opens new tab said in March “The Joe Rogan Experience” had 14.5 million followers, almost triple the platform’s second most popular program. Rogan also has more than 19 million followers on Instagram and 18 million followers on YouTube.

A poll by YouGov last year found that 81% of his listeners are male and 56% are under 35 years old, a demographic that tends to support Trump over Harris.

Harris’ team had been in touch with Rogan’s program about a possible appearance but her campaign said in late October she will not appear on his podcast.

Rogan joins a list of celebrities like Musk and wrestler Hulk Hogan to have endorsed Trump.

Harris has a much bigger list of celebrity endorsements – ranging from basketball superstar Lebron James and actress Meryl Streep to comedian Chris Rock and former talk show host Oprah Winfrey. Superstar singers Beyonce and Taylor Swift have also endorsed her.

Get weekly news and analysis on the U.S. elections and how it matters to the world with the newsletter On the Campaign Trail. Sign up here.

Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Raju Gopalakrishnan

Reuters

Musk and X are epicenter of US election misinformation, experts say

Published

3 months ago

November 5, 2024

electionlive_gcw35j

By Kanishka Singh and Sheila Dang

November 5, 20249:52 AM GMT+6Updated 4 hours ago

Rally for Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump, in New York

WASHINGTON, Nov 4 (Reuters) – False or misleading claims by billionaire Elon Musk about the U.S. election have amassed 2 billion views on social media platform X this year, according to a report, opens new tab by non-profit group Center for Countering Digital Hate.

The platform is also playing a central role in enabling the spread of false information about the critical battleground states that will likely determine the outcome of the presidential race, election and misinformation experts said on Monday.

A spokesperson for X said the company’s Community Notes feature, which lets users add additional context to posts, is more effective at helping people identify misleading content than traditional warning flags on posts.

Since taking over the company formerly known as Twitter, Musk has curtailed content moderation and laid off thousands of employees. He has thrown his support behind former President Donald Trump, who is locked in an exceptionally close race against Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.

Musk’s massive reach with nearly 203 million followers helps enable “network effects” in which content on X can jump to other social media and messaging platforms such as Reddit and Telegram, said Kathleen Carley, a professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University and expert on disinformation. “X is a conduit from one platform to another,” she said.

At least 87 of Musk’s posts this year have promoted claims about the U.S. election that fact-checkers have rated as false or misleading, amassing 2 billion views, according to the Center for Countering Digital Hate’s report.

In Pennsylvania, one of the seven key swing states, some X users have seized on instances of local election administrators flagging incomplete voter registration forms that would not be processed, falsely casting the events as examples of election interference, said Philip Hensley-Robin, Pennsylvania executive director at Common Cause, during a press briefing on Monday.

Common Cause is a nonpartisan organization that promotes accountable government and voting rights.

Some X accounts implied “that there was voter fraud, when in fact, we know very clearly that election officials and election administrators in all of our counties were following the rules and … therefore only eligible voters are voting,” Hensley-Robin said.

Cyabra, a firm that uses AI to detect online disinformation, said on Monday that an X account with 117,000 followers played a key role in helping spread a fake video purporting to show Pennsylvania mail-in ballots for Trump being destroyed.

X’s spokesperson said the platform took action against many accounts that shared the video.

Get weekly news and analysis on the U.S. elections and how it matters to the world with the newsletter On the Campaign Trail. Sign up here.

Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington and Sheila Dang in Austin; Additional reporting by Stephanie Burnett; Editing by Lincoln Feast

Georgia

Georgia top court won’t extend ballot deadline in win for Trump

Published

3 months ago

November 5, 2024

electionlive_gcw35j

By Reuters

November 5, 20244:36 AM GMT+6Updated 9 hours ago

Georgians turned out a day after the battleground state opened early voting

A person picks up a sticker while voters head to a polling station as Georgians turned out a day after the battleground state opened early voting, in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., October 16, 2024. REUTERS/Megan Varner/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

WASHINGTON, Nov 4 (Reuters) – The top court in the battleground state of Georgia ruled on Monday that Cobb County cannot extend the deadline for counting about 3,000 absentee ballots that were sent out shortly before Election Day, handing a victory to the Republican National Committee and presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Siding with the RNC, the Georgia Supreme Court overturned a judge’s ruling extending the deadline until Friday in Cobb County, located in suburban Atlanta. The court decided that only absentee ballots that arrive by 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday (0000 GMT Wednesday) can be counted.

Civil rights groups had sued last week seeking to extend the deadline, arguing that the county violated state law by failing to promptly send out about 3,000 absentee ballots. County officials said they were overwhelmed by a surge in requests.

The Republican National Committee had argued that extending the deadline would violate state law.

“Election Day is Election Day – not the week after,” RNC Chair Michael Whatley wrote in a post on social media.

Cobb County is a large and racially diverse area in Atlanta’s northern suburbs. The county voted for Democrat Joe Biden over Trump by 14 percentage points in the 2020 election. Biden defeated Trump in Georgia in 2020.

A spokesperson for Cobb County did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The state high court ordered that ballots received after Election Day be separated from other ballots and set aside. Voters who did not receive an absentee ballot or did not have enough time to mail it can vote in person on Tuesday.

Georgia is one of seven closely contested states expected to decide the outcome of the race between Trump and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.

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Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Scott Malone and Will Dunham