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Mitch McConnell, the U.S. Senate Majority Leader, vowed on Friday to move quickly with Donald Trump’s nominee to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court, setting the stage for an extraordinary political battle just six weeks before the day. of the elections.
Shortly after the 87-year-old judge’s death was announced, the Republican issued a statement removing any doubt about his intention to act, though the timeline for doing so remained remarkably vague.
“Americans re-elected our majority in 2016 and expanded it in 2018 because we committed to working with President Trump and supporting his agenda, in particular his prominent appointments to the federal judiciary. Once again, we will keep our promise, ”McConnell said in a statement. “President Trump’s candidate will receive a vote in the plenary session of the United States Senate.”
The death of one of the most prominent and celebrated Supreme Court justices in American history has suddenly transformed an already volatile election season into an all-out battle for control of all branches of government. Trump, who faces a difficult re-election, has voiced his desire to quickly nominate a third judge.
The decision will likely be met with outrage from Democrats, who are still furious at McConnell’s refusal to consider Barack Obama’s nomination for Judge Merrick Garland to replace Conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, who died months before the 2016 election. Analysts believe that the controversial decision, and Trump’s commitment to nominate “pro-life” judges to the court, was central to his surprise presidential victory in 2016.
The confirmation of Trump’s supreme court appointees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh secured a solid conservative majority in court. If Trump is successful in confirming a third nominee, the Conservative bloc would dominate the highest court in the nation, likely for decades to come.
Earlier this month, Trump released a list of 20 potential court candidates. Among a host of judicial conservatives were three Republican senators: Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Ted Cruz of Texas, and Josh Hawley of Missouri.
While the courts have long motivated conservative voters, who see the judiciary as a bulwark against a changing electoral landscape, liberals have been increasingly motivated by judicial appointments during the Trump era. The prospect of a conservative majority has alarmed liberal voters, who fear a conservative court will overturn Roe v Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that established the right to abortion.
The titanic shock over Trump’s choice to replace Ginsburg, and how the Senate proceeds with the nomination, may well determine the outcome of the November election.
“In the coming days, we should focus on the loss of his justice and his enduring legacy,” Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said Friday night, speaking from an airport in Delaware after returning from a campaign trip to Minnesota. “But there is no question, let me be clear, that the voters must choose the president and the president must choose the judge for the Senate to consider. This was the position that the Republican Senate took in 2016, with the elections almost 10 months away. [and] that is the position the United States Senate must take today. “
Trump, who was speaking at a rally in Montana when news of Ginsburg’s death broke, reflected on Cruz’s appointment and touted his appointments in court, though he seemed oblivious to the partisan battle looming offstage.
Speaking after the rally, Trump told reporters: “She led an incredible life. What else can you say? She was an amazing woman, whether you agreed or not, she was an amazing woman who led an amazing life. In fact, it saddens me to hear that. “
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Trump was unaware of his death when he took the stage Friday and said the White House would lower the flags in his honor.
It was unclear whether McConnell intended to push for a vote before the November election or wait until the failed session, the period after the election but before the new president takes office. Control of the Senate is hanging by a thread, and some of its members have already raised concerns about the possibility of crushing a candidate weeks before the election, particularly given McConnell’s position four years ago.
Senator Susan Collins, one of the most vulnerable Republican incumbents, saying The New York Times earlier this month that she would not hold a Supreme Court justice position in October, arguing that she was “too close” to the election. Unless Trump was re-elected, she said, she would be opposed to confirming the president’s nominee in a seedy session.
Shortly before Ginsburg’s death was announced, Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska, told a state radio station that she would not vote to confirm a new justice before the elections. Explaining his rationale, he said it was the same logic that McConnell applied to Obama’s final nominee to the supreme court.
“That was too close to an election,” he said, characterizing McConnell’s argument.
However, Kelly Loeffler, a Republican from Georgia trying to reject a strong challenge from her right, urged the president to appoint a new judge.
“The future of our country is at stake and @realDonaldTrump has every right to choose a new judge before the elections, “he said. wrote On twitter. “I look forward to supporting a strict constructionist who will protect the right to life and safeguard our conservative values.”
McConnell has argued that the current situation is different than in 2016. At the time, Republicans controlled the Senate, the chamber that confirms nominees to the Supreme Court, while a Democrat held the White House. This time, he argues, the same party controls both branches, and therefore commit must continue.
Democrats have resisted this argument, saying it threatens the legitimacy of the court. Even some of the president’s closest allies say a confirmation shouldn’t take place in the final months of an election cycle.
Senator Lindsey Graham, who faces unexpectedly competitive re-election competition in South Carolina, said during a 2018 interview: “If a vacancy occurs in the last year of President Trump’s term and the primary process has begun We will wait for the next elections. “
“You are in the registry”, the interviewer said to Graham, in a video clip that was shared widely online Friday night.
“Keep the tape,” he replied.
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