Schumer Vows Democrats Will Block Trump's Supreme Court Picks

Chuck Schumer isn't waiting for the gavel. The soon-to-be Senate majority leader told the Associated Press that Democrats will refuse to confirm a rightwinger to the Supreme Court — a blunt preview of how his party plans to use its new power in January.

Schumer said Democrats wouldn't wave through 'any crappy nominees' to the high court, the lower courts or Trump's cabinet. 'The bottom line is we're not going to allow a rightwinger on the court,' he said. The window is real: four justices are in their 70s, and the two most conservative, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, are the oldest on the bench at 78 and 76.

Republicans still hold the Senate for about six weeks, enough in theory to confirm a Trump pick. Alito has shut down retirement talk, telling Fox News on Thursday he'll stay for the rest of the term no matter how badly Democrats won. Thomas hasn't signaled any plans to step away.

The math is brutal for Republicans. Democrats have secured 54 Senate seats, with a shot at 56 if their candidates hold leads in Mississippi and Alaska — neither race has been called. In the House they'll have at least 253 seats after flipping more than 40, as of Friday morning. That's the wreckage of a midterm wipeout for Trump's party.

Democrats are already sharpening other tools. Robert Garcia, the incoming House oversight chair, told Republicans Tuesday night to 'lawyer up,' with investigations into Trump and his administration on the table. Leaders also want to reverse Medicaid cuts from Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill' and cut off funding for the war in Iran — and Trump has signaled vetoes are coming.

Republicans, meanwhile, are busy pointing fingers. Vice-president JD Vance acknowledged the Iran war fueled frustration, Ted Cruz blamed tariffs for rising costs, and Ron DeSantis conceded the Epstein files vote looked bad for the party. Trump has kept his focus on Washington construction projects — and hit a fresh snag Friday when a federal judge froze work on his planned triumphal arch for 14 days.