Democrat Senator Suggest Justice Sotomayor Should Step Down

No one is bigger than the party… that is the message that Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) is sending to liberal Justice Sotomayor.

Blumenthal is asking Sotomayor to “weigh the competing factors” regarding her retirement.

He is suggesting that if she does not retire and Biden loses this election, we could see a repeat of what happened when Justice Ginsburg died.

Don’t Do It

Blumenthal is now joining the calls for Sotomayor to step down, although he took a less direct approach than others who have demanded she leave her post on the Supreme Court now.

Blumenthal stated, “I’m very respectful of Justice Sotomayor.

“I have great admiration for her. But I think she really has to weigh the competing factors.

“We should learn a lesson. And it’s not like there’s any mystery here about what the lesson should be.

“The old saying — graveyards are full of indispensable people, ourselves in [the Senate] included.”

He added, “Justices have to make their personal decisions about their health and their level of energy, but also to keep in mind the larger national and public interest in making sure that the court looks and thinks like America.”

For her part, Sotomayor has not given any inclination that she plans to step down while Biden is in office.

At 69, assuming health remains good, she could easily last another four years, but the Democrats' concern goes beyond the 2024 cycle, as they could easily be kept out of the White House for more than a decade if Trump wins this election.

There is already speculation that if Trump does win, at least two of the older justices on the conservative side would step down to allow Trump to name their replacement.

If you add Sotomayor to that, and possibly a third conservative justice, Trump could possibly appoint as many as seven sitting justices by the time his term ends in 2028, which would probably have the heads of Democrats exploding.

Sotomayor has been on the bench since 2009, appointed by then-President Barack Obama.

She is among the four oldest justices on the bench, with Justices Alito and Thomas being older, and Justice John Roberts the same age as Sotomayor, with Sotomayor turning 70 in June.