Senate Dems furiously debate trying to push out Justice Sonia Sotomayor: report

Senate Dems are furiously debating whether to pressure US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, a 70-year-old diabetic, into resigning so they can try to confirm another jurist before President-elect Donald Trump takes office, a new report says.Members of the upper chamber’s Democratic caucus broached the sensitive topic after Trump’s electoral landslide Tuesday, according to Politico.But at least some of the senators are loath to publicly leak the notion or even privately urge Sotomayor, a solid liberal vote on the high court and its first Hispanic justice, to leave her post over potential health issues, the report said.Sotomayor is a type 1 diabetic, and the average lifespan for women with the condition is 68 years, according to a 2015 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.“What happens if she resigns and the nominee to replace her isn’t confirmed and the next president fills the vacancy?” a source said.A former Senate Democratic aide told The Post it’s a fool’s errand to think Sotomayer would step aside and the Senate would be able to confirm a Democratic replacement in time.“That’s insane.That’s not going to happen,” the source said.

“If Sotomayor were to resign, [Dem Senate Leader] Chuck Schumer couldn’t get a confirmation done in time.”Those involved in the talks also have acknowledged that it would be difficult to pull of during President Biden’s lame-duck session.“We would have to have assurances from any shaky senator that they would back a nominee in the lame-duck,” a senior Democratic source told Politico.“What do you do if she announces she’s going to step down and then [Democrat-turned-independent West Virginia Sen. Joe] Manchin doesn’t support her and then [Republican Sens.] Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski back off and say they’re not going to support a new nominee?” the source asked.“Do you just rescind [her] letter?”Congress is also running up against a hard fiscal deadl...