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All eyes on Romney, Grassley and Gardner as McConnell confirms he will hold a nomination vote ‘this year.’ Grassley says he supports the Republican push for a Supreme Court nominee, and McConnell promises a vote ‘this year.’
(about 3 hours later)
Senators returned to Washington on Monday with a Supreme Court confirmation fight looming, as Republican leaders weighed the timing of a vote to fill the vacancy left by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa and a former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said on Monday that he would support moving forward before the election to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The announcement was a reversal of his earlier stance on election-year vacancies.
Back in the Senate for the first time since Justice Ginsburg’s death, Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, reiterated on Monday that he planned to fill her vacant Supreme Court seat this year, but declined to offer a more precise timeline. “Once the hearings are underway, it’s my responsibility to evaluate the nominee on the merits, just as I always have,” Mr. Grassley said in a statement. “The Constitution gives the Senate that authority, and the American people’s voices in the most recent election couldn’t be clearer.”
The announcement by the most senior Senate Republican strengthened the hand of Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, who has made it clear he would move forward with President Trump’s nominee despite the party’s refusal to consider President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court pick in 2016, when they argued that doing so in a presidential election year would not be appropriate.
As senators returned to Washington on Monday for the first time since Justice Ginsburg’s death, Mr. McConnell reiterated that he planned to fill her vacant Supreme Court seat this year, but declined to offer a precise timeline.
“The Senate has more than sufficient time to process a nomination,” Mr. McConnell said in a speech meant to knock down complaints lodged by Democrats. “History and precedent make that perfectly clear.”“The Senate has more than sufficient time to process a nomination,” Mr. McConnell said in a speech meant to knock down complaints lodged by Democrats. “History and precedent make that perfectly clear.”
“This Senate will vote on this nomination this year,” he added.“This Senate will vote on this nomination this year,” he added.
With President Trump vowing to name a replacement by the weekend, Mr. McConnell was working behind the scenes to lock up the support he would need to proceed.With President Trump vowing to name a replacement by the weekend, Mr. McConnell was working behind the scenes to lock up the support he would need to proceed.
Republicans could try to rush to confirm a replacement for Justice Ginsburg before Election Day. But doing so could put some of their members up for election in greater political peril and keep them off the campaign trail in the crucial closing weeks of the campaign. There are risks in waiting, too, particularly if voters overwhelmingly reject Mr. Trump and Republican senators at the ballot box.Republicans could try to rush to confirm a replacement for Justice Ginsburg before Election Day. But doing so could put some of their members up for election in greater political peril and keep them off the campaign trail in the crucial closing weeks of the campaign. There are risks in waiting, too, particularly if voters overwhelmingly reject Mr. Trump and Republican senators at the ballot box.
Two Republican senators, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, have publicly objected to the idea of a vote before Election Day, meaning Mr. McConnell could only afford to lose one more member of his party, given his slim, 53-to-47 majority.Two Republican senators, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, have publicly objected to the idea of a vote before Election Day, meaning Mr. McConnell could only afford to lose one more member of his party, given his slim, 53-to-47 majority.
That focused attention on Senators Mitt Romney of Utah, Cory Gardner of Colorado and Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, who were seen as possible holdouts but had said nothing publicly about their intentions. That focused attention on Mr. Grassley and Senators Mitt Romney of Utah and Cory Gardner of Colorado, who were seen as possible holdouts but had said nothing publicly about their intentions. Mr. Romney was the only Republican to break with his party and vote to convict and remove Mr. Trump at his impeachment trial. A vote on a Supreme Court nominee before the election could prove tricky for Mr. Gardner, who is in a tough re-election race in the politically competitive state of Colorado.
Mr. Romney was the only Republican to break with his party and vote to convict and remove Mr. Trump at his impeachment trial. A vote on a Supreme Court nominee before the election could prove tricky for Mr. Gardner, who is in a tough re-election race in the politically competitive state of Colorado. And Mr. Grassley, a former chairman of the Judiciary Committee, had previously held to Republicans’ 2016 position that a Supreme Court vacancy should not be filled in an election year. Mr. Grassley was chairman of the Judiciary Committee when Republicans blocked Mr. Obama’s pick in 2016, when he sided with Mr. McConnell in arguing that it was best to let voters decide who should fill the Supreme Court seat. And as recently as this summer, Mr. Grassley told reporters that out of fairness and consistency, that would still be his position this year if he were chairman.
Democrats, who lack the power to block a Supreme Court confirmation on their own, are instead mounting a pressure campaign to sway the two additional Republicans who would be needed to do so. But on Monday, he noted that he was no longer, in fact, chairman, and he fell into line behind his successor, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. Mr. Graham, who had repeatedly said no Supreme Court nomination should be considered in a presidential election year, reversed himself on Saturday and said he supported proceeding to consider whomever President Trump nominated.
They are also warning of the consequences if they fail. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the minority leader, said that “nothing is off the table” if Democrats were to take control of the Senate, including abolishing the 60-vote legislative filibuster and potentially adding additional seats to the nation’s highest court. Mr. Grassley’s flip was likely to fuel Democrats’ outrage over what they are calling rank hypocrisy by Republicans in light of their actions and statements in 2016. But it is a crucial victory for the White House and Republican leaders in the Senate who need to unite their party in order to fill the seat and, they hope, cement a conservative majority on the court for years to come.
Around the same time, Iowa’s junior senator, Joni Ernst, who is in a tough re-election fight this fall, indicated she, too, would support moving forward, though she did not explicitly say she would support voting on a nominee this year. Polls have shown Ms. Ernst, who is also a member of Mr. McConnell’s leadership team, in a dead heat with her Democratic opponent, Theresa Greenfield.
“Once the president puts forward his nominee for the Supreme Court, I will carry out my duty — as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee — to evaluate the nominee for our nation’s highest court,” she said.