Kamala Harris and Trump to face issues with U.S judiciary

As the 2024 U.S. presidential election looms, both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump (if he reclaims the Oval Office) are heading into a dramatically different judicial landscape. The next president, whether Democratic or Republican, will encounter one sobering reality: fewer chances to reshape the federal judiciary.

President Biden and his predecessor Trump have already stamped their legacies on the judiciary, collectively appointing about half of the 890 life-tenured federal judges within just eight years.

Trump’s tenure saw a seismic shift, as he installed three Supreme Court justices, cementing a 6-3 conservative majority. Meanwhile, Biden, favoring younger appointees, is set to further entrench a generational transformation.

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But the next commander-in-chief will find the judicial bench less pliable. With a shrinking pool of eligible judges set to take semi-retirement, the prospect of fresh vacancies is waning.

Judges are increasingly waiting for a president from their party before stepping down, making judicial nominations a partisan chess game. This means that Kamala Harris or Trump 2.0 will face stiff competition to match the records of Biden (213 appointments) and Trump (234).

The next four years might not be a judiciary game-changer—but the retirement clock will still tick.