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President Ronald Reagan nominated William Rehnquist to be elevated from Associate Justice to Chief Justice following the retirement of Chief Justice Warren Burger, in 1986. This occurred nearly a year into Reagan's second term of office.

Although Burger had been a critic of his predecessor, Earl Warren's, decisions, and his politics were more conservative than Warren's, the Burger Court was only slightly more conservative than the Warren Court, due to the number of progressive justices still on the bench.

In contrast, Chief Justice Rehnquist was considered an ultra-conservative extremist, even by some members of the Republican party.

Rehnquist was determined to reverse the liberal trends and "abdication to politics," he felt had occurred on the Court, but failed to build consensus for his plain. His thinking was so far outside the mainstream, conservative justices sometimes felt compelled to take a more liberal stance, thwarting Rehnquist's goals. Toward the end of his life, Justice Scalia noted Rehnquist was inclined toward advocating conservative outcomes unsupported by legal reasoning.

William Rehnquist lead the Court from September 25, 1986 until his death on September 3, 2005. He was succeeded in office by the incumbent Chief Justice, John Roberts, Jr.

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