They must be considering the possibility....consider this... some Dem voices (Bloomberg for one) calling for Sotomayor to vacate her seat on the Supremes.
Yes she is plagued with diabetes...who knows what her future is? But I think they want her replaced while Joe Biden is still in power...because they think they are going to lose this election. Have I got this right?
This happens at all levels in the federal system. One of the first things I learned while working in the local federal courthouse. Especially with the democRATS. They will move a senior judge to "retired or senior" status so they can move a new and younger democRAT judge into the courthouse. The "retired" judge still gets an office and will hear cases but they are usually "cherry picked" cases. It tends to keep more democRAT appointed judges in the building and a longer list of judges who can be moved to an appellate or higher position. This tends to happen mostly in election years. Just in case the election doesn't go their way.
In the Des Moines federal court house they did it for Obama's re-election. But, they did not do it for the year Donald Trump was elected. I guess they thought that hillary clintoon was a shoe in. This is why the democRATs have been balls to the wall this last 3 years filling every federal judgeship in the country. I guess they never thought Joe was going to be back in 3 years ago. They knew what they were going to do to the country when they stole the 2020 election and pulled off a political coup.
kwg