The U.S. Senate could stop a potential Harris administration from making significant changes to the U.S. Supreme Court. 

It could even make it difficult for Vice President Kamala Harris to select a replacement for an outgoing justice.

The was pointed out in a recent report from CNN.

The report, in large part, is premised on the idea that the Republicans are going to gain control of the upper chamber in the 2024 elections. Forecasters believe that this is likely to happen.

Looking ahead

CNN reports, "If Republicans regain control of the Senate, a President Harris would have to rely on the next GOP leader to schedule a vote on a Supreme Court nominee."

What CNN has to say here, though, is not purely hypothetical or purely speculative.

U.S. Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and John Thune (R-SD) both spoke about the possibility in recent interviews.

When asked whether he would put a Harris Supreme Court pick before the upper chamber, Cornyn said:

It depends. Obviously, they would have to go through the committee process, and so it would depend on that. And then I think it would also depend on who the president nominates. If I’m in a position to make the decision, I’m not going to schedule a vote on some wild-eyed radical nominee, which I know she would love to nominate. But that would be my intention.

Thune, for his part, said, "We’ll cross the bridge when we come to it, but, you know, it probably depends on who it is and that’s the advantage of having a Republican Senate."

The backstory

As mentioned earlier, this report is premised on the idea that Republicans regain control of the Senate in the 2024 presidential election. In a way, it is also premised on the idea that either Cornyn or Thune would be the next Senate majority leader.

Earlier reports revealed that the current senate minority leader, U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), at the end of this term, will step down from his leadership position.

At the moment, there is no real telling who will replace him. Cornyn and Thune are certainly two possibilities, but Republicans - particularly pro-Trump Republicans - are pushing for someone such as U.S. Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL).

One would have to think that Scott would be even less amenable to putting a Harris Supreme Court pick before the Senate than Cornyn and Thune would be.

Time will tell. But, it is safe to say that if Harris wins the presidency and the Republicans win the Senate, then Harris could be in for a tough time - provided the Republicans elect a strong leader to replace McConnell.