The passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has brought the issue of the Supreme Court to the forefront of American politics. And if the past few days are any indicator, it has also set up an intensely partisan confirmation battle in the U.S. Senate. Drama surrounding presidential nominations to the Court is nothing new -- it dates back to George Washington. But the increasingly bitter politics surrounding the Supreme Court -- from disparaging nominees to pursuing policies like court packing to delegitimize the Court -- is part of a larger, divisive trend. This leaves one wondering: how did a non-partisan institution like the Supreme Court come to find itself at the center of political gravity, and can anything be done to reverse course?

To explore these questions and more, Rep. Gallagher is joined by Ilya Shapiro, director of the Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies at the Cato Institute and author of Supreme Disorder: Judicial Nominations and the Politics of America's Highest Court. Ilya is one of the nation’s leading Supreme Court scholars, and joins the podcast to share his thoughts on the evolution and politicization of Court confirmations, judicial philosophies, and future nominees we should keep an eye on. To read more of Ilya’s work, click here.

**This episode was recorded on September 9, 2020, before Justice Ginsburg’s passing.