A Supreme Court confirmation battle is likely coming to the Senate now that two of the upper chamber’s top Republican leaders have said they’re willing to move forward despite the coming election.
In the wake of the death of esteemed Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) made clear that he’d take steps to allow President Donald Trump to fill the high court’s newest vacancy, even as Democrats complain that November’s election is just weeks away. Now, according to Breitbart, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) just joined his Republican colleague in backing the president.
Graham’s willingness to participate in what will undoubtedly be a highly partisan and contentious battle over Trump’s eventual nominee is critical; as chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Graham plays an integral role in the Supreme Court confirmation process.
Moving forward
The remarks from Graham came Saturday, when the senator published a series of tweets outlining his opinion and vowing to “support” Trump “in any effort to move forward” following Ginsburg’s death.
“The two biggest changes regarding the Senate and judicial confirmations that have occurred in the last decade have come from Democrats,” Graham observed Saturday, according to Breitbart. He explained:
* Harry Reid changed the rules to allow a simple majority vote for Circuit Court nominees dealing out the minority.
* Chuck Schumer and his friends in the liberal media conspired to destroy the life of Brett Kavanaugh and hold that Supreme Court seat open.
#2
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) September 19, 2020
Graham was referring to then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-NV) decision to invoke the “nuclear option” in 2013 to end the filibuster on judicial nominations and the combative confirmation hearings in the Senate in October 2018 that ultimately ended in the confirmation of now-Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
“In light of these two events,” Graham wrote Saturday, “I will support President [Donald Trump] in any effort to move forward regarding the recent vacancy created by the passing of Justice Ginsburg.”
“It should be a woman”
It remains to be seen who exactly Trump will nominate to the high court, but at a campaign rally in North Carolina on Saturday, the president vowed to select a woman to replace Ginsburg.
Trump also indicated that he’ll be announcing his pick in the next week.
“I will be putting forth a nominee next week. It will be a woman,” Trump said, according to the BBC. “I think it should be a woman because I actually like women much more than men.”
According to The Hill, top contenders Trump is said to be eyeing for the spot on the bench include Judge Amy Coney Barrett, as well as names like Amul Thapar, Barbara Lagoa, and Allison Jones Rushing. They come from a list of some 40 names previously mentioned by the president as potential nominees to the Supreme Court.
The post Graham: 'I will support' Trump effort to fill Supreme Court vacancy first appeared on Conservative Institute.
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