Justice Sonia Sotomayor should be replaced by Kamala Harris, CNN commentator argues
CNN commentator Bakari Sellers suggested on Friday that Justice Sonia Sotomayor should step down immediately and be replaced by Vice President Kamala Harris.
CNN’s Bakari Sellers floated the idea of President Biden replacing Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor with Vice President Kamala Harris before President-elect Donald Trump can be sworn into office.
"CNN News Central" host John Berman asked Sellers about concerns among Democrats regarding Trump and the Republican majority in the Senate potentially replacing Sotomayor, the third-oldest member of the Supreme Court.
Sellers argued Sotomayor should step down so Biden and the current Democratic majority can replace her in the months before Trump’s inauguration to ensure another liberal justice on the court.
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"You know, Justice Sotomayor has been a more than able justice. I know that she may be having some personal issues that she contends with while serving on the bench. But, you know, I don’t want Justice Sotomayor to be another Ruth Bader Ginsburg in terms of staying too long," Sellers said. "And so I hope that Joe Biden makes the next ten weeks as consequential as he can. I don’t care about drawing outside the lines or what Republicans may think about it. This is within your purview. You can actually do it and you should do it. And you know, one more thing, John, is you have a hell of a vice president right there who has a legal pedigree to sit on the Supreme Court. And let Republicans go crazy, ape, I’m even mentioning that option."
Berman appeared stunned at the suggestion and asked to clarify if Sellers was floating the idea of Harris becoming a Supreme Court justice.
"Not only am I floating it, but I want to stir up everything. I want people’s heads to explode this morning. So we go into the weekend just knowing that the chaos has not ended just yet," Sellers said.
Sellers reiterated his idea in an X post on Sunday.
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"Other bold ideas, Sotomayor needs to resign. The court is currently 6-3. This would limit Trumps ability to make it 7-2. It’s silly to believe there is no difference. You can confirm in 10 weeks (see ACB). You have very good previously vetted candidates…. Sri Srinivasan, Robert Wilkins, Michelle Childs and yes Kamala Harris (though she likely doesn’t get Manchin’s vote). If step one doesn’t occur she could very likely be another story much like RBG," Sellers wrote.
Though Democrats are reportedly considering calls for Sotomayor to step down, the 70-year-old justice has given no indication that she plans on retiring anytime soon. Other senior justices like Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas have also not suggested they are ready to retire.
