McConnell, Republicans in Congress Unite Behind Trump on SCOTUS

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell won the backing of a broad group of Republicans in Congress to move forward with filling the Supreme Court vacancy left by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. While there were some voices of dissent, McConnell’s plan to bring a Trump nominee to the Senate floor before the election unified almost the entire Senate GOP conference with President Donald Trump. “We will proceed to fill the vacancy created by the passing of Justice Ginsburg following the same precedent and process that were established in 2016,” McConnell said in a statement issued last night. “In light of these two precedents, I will request a floor vote and support President Trump as his candidate to fill the vacancy should a candidate be nominated prior to the election.” Among Senate Republicans, the only two dissenters are Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, neither of whom face election until after the Ginsburg vacancy is filled. Collins, who is in a tough reelection race, issued a statement opposing moving forward before the election. “I do not believe that the Senate should vote on the nominee prior to the election,” she said. Murkowski, who isn’t up for reelection, told reporters she wouldn’t vote to confirm a nominee before the election. “This is inconsistent with my lien. I did not support taking up a nominee eight months prior to the 2016 election.” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images Utah Senator Mitt Romney, a conservative who has broken with the president in the past, signaled he would move forward with a Trump nominee. “If a nominee reaches the Senate floor, I intend to vote based upon their qualifications,” Romney said. Other senators who had expressed reservations about moving forward before the election, including Cory Gardner in Colorado and Martha McSally in Arizona, either supported moving forward or did not voice dissent. The House Freedom Caucus, a bloc of libertarian-minded conservatives, issued a statement calling for McConnell to move as soon as possible to fill the vacancy. After Republican Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee came out in support of moving forward with a Trump nominee, Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham signaled that he had enough votes to move a nominee through his panel, the last potential hurdle for a floor vote. “I completely lost faith in Schumer and Pelosi and I don’t think they are going to make a good faith effort to work with the president at all,” Graham said in an interview. “It seems pretty clear to me that there are those who are actively working to undermine the president’s campaign and to delegitimize him.” Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who is seen as a potential candidate to replace Ginsburg, urged McConnell to act even more quickly than waiting until after the election. “Hopefully, a thorough vetting can occur in October and a nominee can be confirmed before the election, so that there should be no issue,” Cruz said in an interview on Fox News. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden continues to call on McConnell to not move forward with a nominee until after a winner of the election is inaugurated on Jan. 20. --- ##Submissions that may interest you SUBMISSION | DOMAIN ---|---- Am I the only one that finds it disgusting our leaders are discussing who they want to appoint to the Supreme Court before a body is even cold? | reddit.com/r/TrueOffMyChest Am I in the minority that I see nothing wrong with the president appointing a judge and the Senate voting on him/her? | reddit.com/r/politics The Supreme Court Vacancy Shouldn't be Filled Until After the Next President is Sworn in | reddit.com/r/saturnstormcube After ruth Bader Ginsburg passes away at the age of 87, Mitch McConnell has stated that he WILL be pushing to confirm a Trump appointed Supreme Court Justice BEFORE the election | reddit.com/r/kingcobrajfs Pro-life Catholics, do you think a Trump appointee could realistically overturn Roe V Wade? | reddit.com/r/relationships Bernie Sanders tweet (don’t know how to post a link on chambers) | reddit.com/r/ChapoTrapHouse [Reditors, please do not vote until you have read and considered this. ]There are now 20 Republican Senators supporting the filling of RBG’s seat before the election | reddit.com/r/redscarepod Wtf well he is dead now | reddit.com/r/redscarepod Why isn’t the argument “if we fill this seat and Biden wins, he gets to pick the next 3 seats” getting more attention? | reddit.com/r/politics What are the chances of McConnell/R Graham/T Cruz letting Biden fill the next seat in Jan 21st if Biden wins and they’re still in control of the Senate? | reddit.com/r/AskTeenGirls Is anyone else disgusting by the fact that a Supreme Court seat is being discussed so quickly after the announcement of RBG’s death? | reddit.com/r/unpopularopinion Feel like the supreme court really hasn’t been a big deal for most people (apart from abortion) until yesterday... | reddit.com/r/kingcobrajfs What is it about Ruth Bader Ginsburg that is causing her death to create so much passing on my feed? | reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole Only in the US can you be 80 years old and still be working | reddit.com/r/nosleep Megathread: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passes away at age 87 after battle with pancreatic cancer | reddit.com/r/politics

McConnell, Republicans in Congress Unite Behind Trump on SCOTUS

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