This morning’s news brings this story about the death late last night of Chief Justice William Rehnquist.
William Hubbs Rehnquist, the 16th chief justice of the United States, died last night at his home in Arlington. He was 80.
Sad news indeed. Rehnquist guided the Court through many of its most controversial decisions and found himself thrust into the middle of history in 1999 when he presided over the first impeachment trial of an American President since Andrew Johnson in 1868.
There is, as with everything, a political element to this story. Now President Bush has an opportunity to make a second appointment to the Supreme Court. And to Chief Justice no less. The only problem is that with President Bush’s approval ratings at all-time lows, he may not have the political capital for the fight that a controversial nominee might bring about. My uneducated guess is that we might see an Antonin Scalia nomination for Chief Justice and then a Souter-type “moderate” appointed to take Scalia’s place as Associate Justice.
