RBG and the Constitutional Politics of SCOTUS Appointments

In the coming weeks and months, the contentious deliberations about who will replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court will occur within a broader constitutional framework. The Constitution lays the ground rules for this high-stakes game by vesting judicial power in a Supreme Court filled with judges who have life tenure; empowering Congress to decide how many judges will serve on the Supreme Court; giving the judicial appointment power jointly to the President and the Senate; and allowing the Senate to determine the rules of its own proceedings.