Story highlights Trump will be able to fill the vacant seat on the bench

But likely several others given the advanced ages of some justices

(CNN) President-elect Donald Trump now has the opportunity to solidify the conservative majority on the Supreme Court for decades to come.

In the short term, when he fills the seat left vacant by the late Justice Antonin Scalia, he will likely return the court to the status quo before Scalia's death.

But with three justices in their late 70's and early 80's -- it's the next seat or seats that could make the difference.

"I have said that I will hold this office as long as I can do the job full steam," the 83-year-old Ruth Bader Ginsburg told PBS' Charlie Rose in September. "I know that this year I'm OK. At my age you have to take it year by year."

Adding two new conservative appointees to the court could lead to restrictions on abortion a further loosening of campaign finance rules, the lifting of gun restrictions, the limiting of environmental rules, and a further emphasis on the power of states over the federal government.

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