BIDEN PROBABLY WOULDN'T GET TO REPLACE A REPUBLICAN SUPREME COURT JUSTICE

How is Clarence Thomas doing? It's not clear.

The Supreme Court declined to say Wednesday whether 73-year-old Justice Clarence Thomas remains in the hospital, though he had been expected to be released by Tuesday evening.

The court said Sunday that Thomas had been admitted to Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington on Friday after experiencing “flu-like symptoms,” and he was diagnosed with an infection. His “symptoms are abating,” and he was expected to be released Monday or Tuesday, the court said in a statement at the time. But on Wednesday morning, court spokeswoman Patricia McCabe said she had no update to provide....

Thomas did not have COVID-19 and his infection was being treated with intravenous antibiotics, the court has said.

Thomas, like the other justices, is vaccinated and boosted. If he has a breakthrough COVID infection, it seems odd that the Supreme Court would just lie about that. If he and his wife hoped to politicize a COVID infection, you'd think they'd want it known that his vaccination didn't prevent him from getting sick. So I assume he doesn't have COVID, and that leaves a likely diagnosis (hat tip: Allahpundit at Hot Air):

For everyone who doesn’t practice medicine, let me translate.

Justice Thomas has “flu-like symptoms” (implying fever, cough, congestion) requiring IV antibiotics.

If accurate, he has bacterial pneumonia.

What else requiring IV antibiotics causes *flu-like symptoms*?

1/ pic.twitter.com/cm3vB8OmG6

— Jeremy Faust MD MS (ER physician) (@jeremyfaust) March 21, 2022

Okay, let's go there: What happens if Thomas is sicker than we were originally told he was? What if he doesn't pull through?

Here's some speculation:

In the event Thomas doesn't make it, I would expect a swift joint statement from Manchin, Sinema, Collins, and Murkowski saying we are too close to the midterms to hold these hearings and we should let voters decide the makeup of the Senate that will confirm his replacement.

— Robert Sawicki (@Rob_Sawicki) March 23, 2022

I think the craziness in D.C. would start with a Republican-only statement -- Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, and several other Republicans announcing in no uncertain terms that it would be wildly inappropriate for President Biden and Senate Democrats to conduct confirmation hearings this close to an election (yes, in early spring). Or ... maybe they'd wait until they could recruit either Joe Manchin or Kyrsten Sinema.

But isn't there a possible appointee who'd be likely to win Manchin's vote, as well as the votes of several Republicans? Allahpundit thinks so:

Yesterday, at the opening of Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearing, Lindsey Graham said this:

South Carolina’s senior senator said Monday he’s still upset that President Joe Biden did not nominate federal Judge Michelle Childs to the U.S. Supreme Court and blamed liberal groups for keeping her from getting the high court nod...

Graham repeated Monday that had Childs been the nominee she would have received at least 60 votes in the Senate and had his support and that of another South Carolinan, Sen. Tim Scott.

Manchin reportedly also wanted Childs for the Breyer vacancy. If Thomas were to leave the Court, Biden could nominate her for his seat and dare Graham and Manchin to bork her in order to hold the seat open until after the midterms.

But:

Graham might, since replacing Thomas with a Democrat would upend the ideological balance of power on the Court. But as long as the White House can keep centrist Democrats like Manchin on board, they could get Childs confirmed.

There never would have been 60 votes for Childs -- I believe Republicans would have smeared her the way they're smearing Jackson now, and even Graham and Tim Scott would have ultimately voted against their fellow South Carolinian, despite the fact that she's a moderate.

And if Biden were to pick Childs after picking Jackson, that would be two Black female appointees. Maybe no one in the Senate would dare to say That's not a Court that looks like America!, but many people in the GOP orbit would say it, repeatedly.

And keep in mind that much of the GOP base would believe that Democrats and/or the Deep State had murdered Thomas, just like these Breitbart commenters when news of Thomas's illness was first announced:

I could imagine another January 6 if Biden and Senate Democrats begin the process of replacing a right-wing justice. But Sinema or Manchin will probably agree with McConnell that the seat should be kept open, and that will be that.