Romney Will Vote on Nominee
U.S senator Mitt Romney announced that he will vote on a Supreme Court nominee before the 2020 election, which hurts Democrats hopes of holding off on nominating a new justice until a potential Joe Biden presidency. Democrats only have 2 of the 4 necessary Republican senators needed to stop the nomination process, and without Romney, their chances of getting 4 senators to vote against the party are quite low.
President Donald Trump tweeted quickly following Romney’s statement that he would be announcing his nominee Saturday. The move to pick a nominee so close to an election has been called hypocritical by Democrats who point out that Republican senators would not vote on Merrick Garland’s nomination in March of 2016.
Romney’s announcement has major consequences for the future of American law and markets. A Trump appointee would create a 6-3 conservative majority on the court. With 72-year-old justice Clarence Thomas being the oldest conservative member of the court, it is likely that such a conservative majority could hold for a considerable amount of time. The court will rule on numerous cases through a conservative lens, and this will include many cases that both directly and indirectly impact business. Of course, moving forward with the nomination process will also have significant political implications on the 2020 election.
The nomination process over the upcoming weeks has the potential to be a significant turning point in American history. All investors should keep a close eye on the developments and do their research as to how changes could impact the markets.
I am not a financial advisor and my comments should never be taken as financial advice. Investments come with risk, so always do your research and analysis beforehand.