Republicans vow to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg before November US elections

The death of United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, just over six weeks before the United States election, put immediate focus on the vacancy of the superior court, and the majority leader of the Senate Mitch McConnell quickly vowed to put to a vote whoever President Donald Trump nominates.

Democratic nominee Joe Biden strongly disagreed, stating that “the voters must choose the president and the president must choose the judge to consider him.”

McConnell, in a statement just over an hour after Ginsburg’s death was announced, unequivocally stated that Trump’s nominee would receive a vote, even though he had stalled the election of President Barack Obama for months before the US elections. 2016, which ultimately prevented a vote.

Trump, in brief remarks to reporters after learning of her death, called Ginsburg “an incredible woman” and added that she “led an incredible life.” He had continued with a campaign speech for more than an hour after the nation learned of his death, and later said he did not know.

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In the speech, he boasted that the next presidential term could offer him up to four appointments to the nine-member court, whose members are confirmed for life.

Biden, returning to Delaware from his own campaign stopover in Minnesota, praised Ginsburg upon his arrival.

Ginsburg was “not just a giant of the legal profession, but a beloved figure,” he said. She “represented all of us.”

The process of replacing her should not begin until after the elections, he clarified.

Ginsburg’s death could significantly affect the presidential race, further stirring passions in the deeply divided nation as the campaign moves into its home stretch.

Trump took the stage for a rally in Minnesota shortly before Ginsburg’s death was announced. He spoke for over 90 minutes, never mentioning it, apparently unaware of the development. He spoke to reporters about his passing when he boarded Air Force One to return to Washington.

But he did say in his speech that whoever is elected in November will have the ability to potentially fill several vacancies on the Supreme Court, stating: “This will be the most important election in the history of our country and we have to do it well. ”

A confirmation vote in the Senate is not guaranteed, even with a Republican majority.

Typically, it takes several months to review and hold hearings on a Supreme Court candidate, and there is little time before elections.

Key senators may be reluctant to cast votes this close to elections. With a slim Republican majority, 53 seats in the 100-member chamber, Trump’s election could afford to lose only a few.

McConnell did not specify the timing, but moving a confirmation to the post-election-dubious session would lead to other complications, including the political tangle of trying to push it through in the final weeks of the year after voters have decided to control the White House and control of the Senate.

Trump has made appointments to the federal judiciary, including two Supreme Court justices, part of his legacy and said last month that he would “absolutely” try to fill a vacancy in the high court if one arose before the end of his first term. . .

“Absolutely, I would,” Trump said in an Aug. 11 interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. “I would move fast. Why not? I mean, they would. Democrats would if they were in this position. ”

Last week, Trump added 20 names to his list of candidates from whom he promised to choose if he had vacancies to fill in the future.

Trump tried to cross-check the list with the justices who could be nominated if Biden wins in November, warning that Biden would select “ radical justices ” who would “ fundamentally transform America without a single vote from Congress, ” although Biden has never He outlined his list of possible candidates and the Senate must confirm any nominees.

Naming his possible options, less than two months before the election, aims to repeat the strategy that Trump employed during his 2016 campaign, when he published a similar list of potential judges in an attempt to win over conservative and evangelical voters who had doubts about your conservative good faith.

The average days to confirm a judge, according to the Congressional Investigation Service, is 69 days, which would be after the election.

Biden has promised to nominate a black woman to the superior court if he gets the chance. She has said she is also working on a list of possible nominees, but the campaign has given no indication that she will release names before the election.

Democrats believe doing so would unnecessarily distract from Biden’s focus on Trump’s handling of the pandemic and the economy, while also giving the president and his allies new targets to strike.

Trump, however, insisted that presidential candidates “owe the American people” a list of who they would consider because, in addition to “issues of war and peace, the nomination of a Supreme Court justice is the most important decision that can be made. take an American president. ” do.”