The nine Supreme Court justices, unelected but influential, are poised to help sway voters in November in the bitter fight for the Senate majority.
Democrats are warning that if Republicans hold on to the Senate gavel, they will be able to usher through more of President Trump’s MAGA picks for the Supreme Court.
Republicans say a Democratic-controlled Senate will lead to an increase in the number of justices on the high court or to the imposition of term limits. Liberal-leaning lawmakers say they plan to advance the two proposals at the first opportunity.
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Republicans warn that a Democratic-controlled Senate could prevent Mr. Trump from winning confirmation of Supreme Court justices if he needs to fill a vacancy.
“If we lose the Senate majority, Democrats could hold the president’s nominee hostage. We can’t let that happen,” according to a Republican fundraising email sent to voters this month.
Senate Democratic leaders have declined to commit to bringing a Trump Supreme Court nominee to the floor for a vote if they control the chamber during the final two years of his administration.
“The bottom line is one of the reasons that we want to make sure — do everything we can to take back the Senate — is to not let Trump put such horrible justices — MAGA justices — on the Supreme Court and the lower courts,” Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, said last month when asked how he would handle a Trump nomination.
The two parties are dueling over their Supreme Court agendas ahead of the midterm elections.
For Republicans, it is preventing a left-leaning takeover and preserving the court’s 6-3 ratio of justices, a majority of whom were nominated by Republican presidents.
Democrats have made no secret of their intention to make significant changes to the court. One plan, promoted by former Vice President Kamala Harris, a leading 2028 contender, would expand the number of justices on the court with liberal picks who would outnumber the six justices appointed by Republicans.
“We need more justices on the Supreme Court so that we can have a court that actually reinforces the spirit and principles behind the Constitution of the United States,” Ms. Harris said during a recent interview on Keke Palmer’s podcast, “Baby, This is Keke Palmer.”
Senate Democrats have prepared legislation to impose term limits for the justices, a plan also touted by other potential 2028 presidential candidates.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is considering a White House run, said this summer on a podcast, “This Is Gavin Newsom,” that “it’s time to have the conversation” about term limits for Supreme Court justices and members of Congress.
Republicans say they are ringing alarm bells for voters “who are not energized yet” that “the Supreme Court is on the ballot.”
Sen. Steve Daines, a Montana Republican who headed the Republicans’ campaign arm in the Senate during the 2024 elections, told Fox News Digital that he alerted the White House that voters need to hear a louder warning from the president about the implications for the high court if Democrats win.
“If we have a vacancy, Sotomayor, Clarence Thomas, who knows — we could not, President Trump could not move through a Supreme Court justice,” Mr. Daines said — referring to Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Clarence Thomas.
Neither Justice Sonia Sotomayor, 72, nor Justice Thomas, 78, has indicated any plans to retire. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., 76, said he considered retiring this year and will again weigh whether to make an exit in 2027.
A Supreme Court vacancy during Mr. Trump’s final two years in office would likely face a wall of resistance in a Democratic-controlled Senate. Party leaders could refuse to bring a Trump nominee to the floor, thanks to a precedent set by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, in March 2016.
Mr. McConnell refused to bring up President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland, after the sudden death of Justice Antonin Scalia.
Mr. McConnell argued it was too close to the November election to confirm a replacement. Voters, he said, should have a chance to weigh in on who should fill the presidency first.
The vacancy and Mr. McConnell’s defiance thrust the Supreme Court into the center of the presidential election. Mr. Trump’s campaign promise to appoint conservative justices from a published list was credited with helping him win over conservative voters in 2016.
After his 2016 win, Mr. Trump nominated Justice Neil M. Gorsuch to the high court. Mr. Garland became attorney general during the Biden administration.
Some Republicans see the Supreme Court as a way to turn out conservative voters in a tough midterm election. However, affordability, not the high court, is the top issue in the 2026 midterms.
Both parties’ candidates are nonetheless dedicating time at their campaign rallies and on debate stages to elevate the Supreme Court in voters’ minds.
In Maine, where a pivotal Senate race will help decide control of the upper chamber, Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, a Democrat, repeatedly attacked his Republican opponent, five-term Republican incumbent Sen. Susan M. Collins, over her vote to confirm Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh.
Mr. Kavanaugh later voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision legalizing abortion.
Ms. Collins has always supported abortion access and has said she believes Justice Kavanaugh would not vote to throw out the landmark decision.
Mr. Jackson, who once opposed abortion but now supports it, is backed by reproductive rights groups that are attacking Ms. Collins with mailers accusing her of opposing “reproductive rights.”
Mr. Jackson is piling on too.
“She still won’t admit she was wrong in putting Brett Kavanaugh on,” Mr. Jackson said during one of four debates between the two candidates.
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