--- title: CPAC: Ted Cruz Predicts Another Supreme Court Opening description: Texas Sen. Ted Cruz predicted that the Supreme Court will have another open seat by this summer. canonical: https://time.com/4680572/ted-cruz-supreme-court-vacancy/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-02-23T17:09:08.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T03:29:23.058Z article:section: Politics og:title: Ted Cruz Says Supreme Court Will Have Another Open Seat This Summer og:description: "This summer, I think we'll have another Supreme Court vacancy." og:url: https://time.com/4680572/ted-cruz-supreme-court-vacancy/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6ef6cce40233360f/6988bb9b0b72e353d66ecbc2/gettyimages-633593560.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: US Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, speaks with Supreme Court nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch during a meeting at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, February 2, 2017. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ted Cruz Says Supreme Court Will Have Another Open Seat This Summer twitter:description: "This summer, I think we'll have another Supreme Court vacancy." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6ef6cce40233360f/6988bb9b0b72e353d66ecbc2/gettyimages-633593560.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Ted Cruz Predicts Supreme Court Will Have Another Open Seat This Summer > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Feb 23, 2017 5:09 PM UTC  US Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, speaks with Supreme Court nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch during a meeting at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, February 2, 2017. US Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, speaks with Supreme Court nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch during a meeting at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, February 2, 2017. SAUL LOEB—AFP/Getty Images by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Feb 23, 2017 5:09 PM UTC Texas Sen. Ted Cruz predicted that the Supreme Court will have another open seat by this summer. In an on-stage interview at the [annual Conservative Political Action Conference](http://time.com/4679396/cpac-donald-trump-conservatives/), the Republican Senator predicted that there might be another opening on the nation’s high court soon. “This summer, I think we’ll have another Supreme Court vacancy,” he said. Cruz did not explain the remark and conservative commentator Mark Levin, who was conducting the interview, did not ask a follow-up question. The U.S. Senate is currently considering President Trump’s [nomination of federal Judge Neil Gorsuch](http://time.com/4678691/republicans-neil-gorsuch-congress-nuclear-option/) to replace the [late Justice Antonin Scalia](http://time.com/4384855/antonin-scalia-supreme-court/). If confirmed, Gorsuch would keep the court’s conservative balance in place. If a liberal justice or swing Justice Anthony Kennedy were to leave the court, however, Cruz predicted there would be a tough fight with Democrats over a replacement. Cruz said that Senate Democrats are scared of angry voters on the left, calling their base “bat crap crazy.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4680572/ted-cruz-supreme-court-vacancy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4680572/ted-cruz-supreme-court-vacancy/"},"headline":"Ted Cruz Predicts Supreme Court Will Have Another Open Seat This Summer","datePublished":"2017-02-23T17:09:08.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T03:29:23.058Z","description":"Texas Sen. 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