A Much Shallower Pool in 2033

The crushing defeats that Republicans suffered in the midterm Senate elections mean that the pool of attractive Supreme Court candidates will be dramatically shallower when a Republican president next has a good opportunity to appoint a Supreme Court justice. Consider:

1. For the last ten justices appointed by Republican presidents, the average age of the justice at the time of nomination was 50. Alito was the oldest at 55. So let’s deem the desirable age of a nominee to be 55 or younger.