Republican pollster Frank Luntz said that former President Donald Trump could likely select additional seats on the U.S. Supreme Court if he is given a second term.
At around 1 a.m. ET Wednesday, Trump is in the lead in the 2024 presidential race, with 247 electoral votes secured, according to projections by the Associated Press. Vice President Kamala Harris holds around 210 out of the 270 electoral votes secured. Republicans also flipped control of the Senate Tuesday night and now have 51 seats in the upper chamber of Congress.
Speaking on NewsNation late into Tuesday's race, Luntz said that "with the Senate going red and with Trump at this point more than likely to be elected, still not a sure thing, but if he gets elected then he gets the appointment and with the Senate going Republican whomever he wants is going to end up on the Supreme Court."
"That is about as big of an impact as you can have this election evening because there are a couple justices that will probably be retiring in the next year or two," Luntz added.
During his first term in office, Trump selected three justices to the nation's highest court, tipping the court to a 6-3 conservative majority.
While Luntz did not offer examples of justices he believed could retire during another Trump presidency, there has been speculation that Chief Justice John Roberts could be pressured to resign to open up the chance for a new Republican White House and Senate to select a younger justice in his place.
Roberts, 69, is a conservative who has survived on the Supreme Court for over 20 years. He has sided with the conservative majority on a number of high-profile and controversial cases, including the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June 2022 and Trump's presidential immunity case over the summer.
The chief justice was also, however, a swing vote between 2018 and 2020. During Trump's final year in office, Roberts sided with liberal Justice Elena Kagan on more occasions than conservative Justice Clarence Thomas. Trump has also previously called Roberts an "absolute disaster."
There is also speculation that Thomas, who is 76, and Justice Samuel Alito, who is 74, could retire if Trump is given a second term in the White House. University of Massachusetts Amherst professor Paul Collins told Newsweek earlier this week that both conservative justices would "fully understand" the chances of being replaced by a Democratic president in future elections and decide to retire with a Republican White House to give Trump the chance to replace their seats.
Update 11/06/24, 1:21 a.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional information and background.
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