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The president of the United States, Donald Trump, wants to quickly fill the position of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. And her party should follow her.
They want the occupation to end quickly: Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader.
Photo: Kevin Lamarque (Reuters)
If Democrats had hoped that US President Donald Trump would still be able to shy away from taking Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat on the Supreme Court before the November 3 election, they should have buried these hopes no later than Monday: “We have the Senate,” Trump said, “and when you have the Senate, you can basically do whatever you want.”
In fact, Republicans have a majority of 53 to 47 seats in the Senate, and that is where it will be decided whether to accept Trump’s proposal to replace the Supreme Court position. Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader, is considered one of the most cunning and ruthless politicians in power in Washington, and so far he has almost always gathered his majorities with a few exceptions. He left no doubt that he was voting on Trump’s proposal.
Before or after the presidential elections?
The only question is when the vote will take place. One possibility would be to speed up the process so much that the whole matter is resolved before November 3. The second option would be to prepare the process to a great extent, but vote only after the presidential elections. Trump will remain in office until January 20, either way. So even if Republicans lost the presidential election and lost their majority in the Senate, they could still fill the court between November 3 and January 20.
Republicans do not entirely agree. Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska have publicly said they oppose being groped before the election. If two more Republicans jumped in, Democrats expect Mitt Romney of Utah, Cory Gardner of Colorado and Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Trump’s plan would have failed.
For one thing, Republicans are more likely to join in on this issue because they have always been the most pragmatic and best-organized party in Washington. Second, it doesn’t have to mean anything if Collins and Murkowski say they are against voting before the election. Collins, in particular, continues to flirt with democratic positions, which is due to the fact that Maine is not a particularly conservative state. In the end, however, he almost always votes with his party.
He has announced resistance: Sen. Susan Collins of Maine.
Photo: Greg Nash (Reuters)
Furthermore, it cannot be ruled out that both women will be persuaded to take office after the elections, regardless of the outcome. The calculation: If Republicans keep their majority in the Senate, everyone could vote for the new judge with a clear conscience. If they lose the majority, almost everything doesn’t matter anyway, and at least they could still fill the seat that will secure a conservative majority on the Supreme Court for years and perhaps decades. It may sound cynical, but American politics is mostly cynical these days.
At a Donald Trump performance, his followers chanted “Fill that seat!” – “Take your place!”
Perhaps the best example of this is Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. Before the 2016 election, she described Donald Trump as racist, “xenophobic” and “bigoted.” That didn’t stop him from becoming one of the president’s most ardent and hasty supporters when he was elected. He likes to play golf with Trump.
In October 2018, he said that if there was a vacancy on the Supreme Court last year of Trump’s first term in office, they would wait until after the election to fill it. In return, you can take him at his word, you can reproduce the recording of this statement. But now Graham has no problem filling the position. Furthermore, as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, you will be an integral part of the process.
After the duel the political exchange of blows: memorial of the late Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Photo: Joshua Roberts (Reuters)
When Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died in February 2016, then-President Barack Obama wanted to fill the position with Moderate Justice Merrick Garland. Mitch McConnell made sure Garland wasn’t even heard in the Senate. He simply blocked the nomination, which may not be in the constitution, but is made possible by the Republican majority in the Senate. His reasoning at the time was: “The American people should have a voice to fill the position on the Supreme Court. Therefore, this position should not be filled until we have a new president.” That was nine months before the elections.
McConnell was widely believed to have set a precedent: There were no Supreme Court replacements in the election year. The fact that Ruth Bader Ginsburg died just six and a half weeks before the election is not something McConnell disputes in the least. She will do her best to see the replacement. And the Republican base does not care that double standards are used here. At a Trump appearance over the weekend, his supporters chanted “Fill that seat!” – “Take your place!”
