The coming Sotomayor shortage

The Supreme Court Won’t Be Getting Another Sotomayor Anytime Soon

Democrats lost the Senate, but so what? President Obama still has two more years and a veto.

But there is at least one area where the GOP’s new Senate majority makes a big difference: a Supreme Court nomination. While it’s still unclear whether Obama will get to nominate another justice, the Republican gains in November make it unlikely a liberal nominee, such as Justice Thurgood Marshall, would be confirmed. And a nominee like the two Obama-appointed justices currently sitting on the court, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor, would face a possible filibuster.

Only a true middle-of-the-road nominee — such as Justice Stephen Breyer before his nomination hearing — or a perfectly qualified, center-left nominee — such as Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg — would be a favorite to be confirmed.