At a town hall event in Iowa this week, Hillary Clinton was asked by a supporter if she would consider appointing Barack Obama to the U.S. Supreme Court if she becomes president.
She thought it was a great idea. ABC News reports:
Hillary Clinton Would Consider Appointing President Obama to Supreme CourtA second Clinton administration could mean a future Justice Barack Obama.At a campaign event in Deocorah, Iowa on Tuesday, Hillary Clinton lit up when a voter asked her if she would consider appointing the president to the Supreme Court should she win the White House.”Wow, what a great idea. No one has ever suggested that to me, I love that, wow,” the Democratic presidential candidate responded. “He may have a few other things to do but I tell you that’s a great idea.”Clinton went on to talk about how the next president could have to appoint up to three Supreme Court justices, but she then circled back.”I would certainly take that under advisement,” she told the crowd of 450 people inside a ballroom at the Winn Hotel about a potential Justice Obama. “I mean he’s brilliant, and he can set forth an argument, and he was a law professor, so he’s got all the credentials.””Now we do have to get a Democratic Senate to get him confirmed so you’re going to have to help me on that, OK?” she added.In 2014, in an interview with the New Yorker, President Obama seemed unsure when asked whether he would consider a position on the Supreme Court.“I love the law, intellectually,” Obama said, “I love nutting out these problems, wrestling with these arguments. I love teaching. I miss the classroom and engaging with students. But I think being a Justice is a little bit too monastic for me.
Here’s the video:
According to Politico, the last president to join the Supreme Court was William Howard Taft.
Getting Obama approved would be trickier than it sounds.
Ben Kamisar of The Hill:
Obama graduated from Harvard Law, the alma mater of a majority of the sitting justices on the court, and served as the first black editor of the Harvard Law Review. There have been rumors of him teaching at Columbia Law School after he leaves office, but nothing has been confirmed.Assuming the GOP maintains control of the Senate in 2016, an Obama nomination would be a tough sell in the Judiciary Committee. Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican and presidential hopeful, serves on the committee and would likely be a vocal impediment to that nomination. Other GOP members who have accused Obama of flouting the Constitution would be sure to protest as well.Clinton commented that the next president could make anywhere from one to three Supreme Court appointments depending on when justices decide to retire.”I think that the Supreme Court has been heading in the wrong direction,” Clinton said.
SCOTUS has approved gay marriage and Obamacare but she thinks it’s headed in the wrong direction? Oh right… Citizens United.
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