# Democrats vow to block Trump Supreme Court picks > Senate Democrats say they will refuse to confirm Trump nominees to the Supreme Court if they win control in 2026, citing McConnell's blockade of Obama's pick. - Title: Democrats vow to block Trump Supreme Court picks · NBC News - Summary: Senate Democrats say they will refuse to confirm Trump nominees to the Supreme Court if they win control in 2026, citing McConnell's blockade of Obama's… - Keywords: chuck schumer, donald trump, supreme court, senate democrats, mitch mcconnell, judicial nominees, 2026 election, richard blumenthal, senate judiciary committee, politics, news, Democrats - Source: NBC News — https://nbcnews.com/politics/congress/democrats-dont-expect-fill-supreme-court-vacancy-trump-rcna600908 - Author: Sahil Kapur - Published: 2026-10-05T16:55:21.048+00:00 - Read time: 3 min - Topics: chuck schumer, donald trump, supreme court, senate democrats, mitch mcconnell, judicial nominees, 2026 election, richard blumenthal, senate judiciary committee, politics, news ## Schumer warns Trump on judges Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says Democrats want to take back the Senate to stop Trump from putting MAGA justices on the Supreme Court and lower courts. > One of the reasons we want to do everything we can to take back the Senate is not let Trump put such horrible justices, MAGA justices, on the Supreme Court and the lower courts. ## Blumenthal: no Trump picks Senator Richard Blumenthal, a senior Judiciary Committee Democrat from Connecticut, says a Democratic-led Senate would not confirm a Trump Supreme Court nominee. > Given the history of Trump nominees, I think it is slim to none that we would support a nominee from this administration. ## The stakes of 2026 The 2026 election carries high stakes for Trump's judicial nominees, especially if a Supreme Court vacancy opens. No justice has signaled plans to retire. ## Oldest justices in focus Speculation centres on how long conservatives Clarence Thomas, seventy-eight, and Samuel Alito, seventy-six, will stay on the court. Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Chief Justice John Roberts are next oldest. ## Alito considered retiring Justice Samuel Alito told CBS News he considered retirement earlier this year but decided against it, saying it is hard to predict the political situation. > It's something I think that somebody at my age has to think about every term. ## Democratic Senate power If Democrats win Senate control, they would determine which Trump nominees for federal judgeships get hearings and votes, including for any Supreme Court vacancy. ## Trump's judicial record Trump appointed two hundred ninety federal judges during his first term, including three Supreme Court justices. All were confirmed under Republican Senate control. ## McConnell's precedent Some Democrats say they should mirror Mitch McConnell's tactic of holding a Supreme Court seat open for ten months under President Barack Obama to let a Republican president fill it. ## Gallego wants payback Senator Ruben Gallego, an Arizona Democrat, says Democrats must do exactly what McConnell did to them, though he does not want it to become a permanent rule. > No, we've got to do exactly what McConnell did to us. ## Kennedy: very slim chance Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana, on the Judiciary Committee, says there is a very slim possibility Trump would get a Supreme Court nominee through a Democratic-led Senate. > There's a slim possibility, very slim possibility. But there's a possibility that somebody would confuse me with Brad Pitt. ## Graham warns of Democratic block Senator Darline Graham, a South Carolina Republican on the Judiciary Committee, says a Republican-majority Senate will be needed to confirm a Trump Supreme Court nominee. > If Democrats control the Senate, they will not even allow a vote. ## Blumenthal's 2020 test Blumenthal says one litmus test for Trump judicial nominees is whether they can correctly answer who won the two thousand twenty election, a question various Trump nominees have refused to engage on. > We'll stop a lot of these totally unqualified, ideologically right-wing nominees who won't answer the question of who won the 2020 election. ## McConnell's Obama blockade Some Democrats remember that McConnell slowed nearly all judicial nominations to a crawl in Obama's last two years, which he saw as payback for Democrats abolishing the sixty-vote threshold for lower court judges in two thousand thirteen. ## Hirono and Whitehouse hesitate Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii declines to commit, saying she cannot speak for colleagues. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, likely next Judiciary chair if Democrats win, also declines to say what he would do. ## Demand Justice opposes all Trump picks Josh Orton, president of progressive judicial group Demand Justice, says his organization is prepared to oppose any Trump nominee regardless of when a vacancy happens, on moral and political grounds. > On moral and political grounds, I don't see any reason for Democrats to consider a Trump Supreme Court nomination. ## Trump attacks the Court Last month Trump issued lengthy criticism of the Supreme Court on Truth Social for ruling against him on mail-in ballots, tariffs and birthright citizenship, saying they are not the people he interviewed. > The Supreme Court has really let our Country down. These are not the people I interviewed to serve on the United States Supreme Court. ## Key takeaway Senate Democrats say they will block Trump Supreme Court nominees if they win the 2026 election, invoking Mitch McConnell's refusal to seat Merrick Garland.