Posted on 09/20/2020 4:25:52 PM PDT by robowombat
McConnell locks down key GOP votes in Supreme Court fight BY JORDAIN CARNEY - 09/20/20 07:07 PM EDT 206
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McConnell locks down key GOP votes in Supreme Court fight © Greg Nash Alexander backs vote on Trump Supreme Court nominee: What Democrats 'would do if the shoe were on the other foot' Volume 90%
Republican senators are coalescing behind Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) vow to fill the Supreme Court seat left vacant by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
A number of GOP senators, including both retiring members and vulnerable incumbents, are backing McConnell's promise to hold a vote on whomever President Trump nominates, underscoring Republicans' desire to fill the seat even as they face charges of hypocrisy from Democrats and pushback from some of their own colleagues.
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), who is retiring at the end of the year, said on Sunday that he would support filling the seat this year, though he'll make a decision on the nominee once Trump names his pick.
"No one should be surprised that a Republican Senate majority would vote on a Republican President’s Supreme Court nomination, even during a presidential election year. ...Senator McConnell is only doing what Democrat leaders have said they would do if the shoe were on the other foot," Alexander said in a statement.
Alexander's decision follows similar remarks from Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), who both indicated they would support McConnell if he moves to hold a vote on confirming a third Supreme Court pick for Trump. Neither is up for re-election this year.
Portman, in a statement, noted that McConnell intended to hold a vote and "I intend to fulfill my role as a U.S. Senator and judge that nominee based on his or her merits." Blunt, a member of GOP leadership, added to CBS' Face the Nation that there was "plenty of time" for Republican to confirm a nominee this year.
"The White House and the Senate have some obligation to do what they think in the majority in the Senate is the right thing to do. And there is a Senate majority put there by voters for reasons like this," he said.
The decision by Portman, Blunt and Alexander to align with McConnell and Trump highlights the narrowing pool of GOP senators that Democrats could flip in order to block Republicans from filling the seat in the middle of an election year.
Republicans still face a decision on whether they should try to squeeze in the nomination before the election day or in the end-of-year lame duck, something that is likely to be discussed at a leadership meeting on Monday night and a caucus lunch on Tuesday.
“I’m for whatever gives us the best opportunity to confirm a conservative to the court while giving us the best chance of keeping the Senate and White House,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) told The Hill on Saturday "[But] I suspect we will have a long discussion about it Tuesday."
So far two GOP senators — Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), the only GOP senator to oppose Brett Kavanaugh's nomination, and Susan Collins (R-Maine), who is facing a tough re-election bid — have said that they do not believe the Senate should take up the Supreme Court nomination before the Nov. 3 election, which is 44 days away.
"I did not support taking up a nomination eight months before the 2016 election to fill the vacancy created by the passing of Justice Scalia. We are now even closer to the 2020 election - less than two months out - and I believe the same standard must apply," Murkowski said on Sunday.
Collins, in a statement on Saturday, said the appointment "should be made by the President who is elected on November 3rd."
But Democrats will need at least two more GOP senators to oppose moving a Supreme Court nominee before the election to give them a fighting chance of keeping the seat open until next year.
Alexander and Portman, in particular, were considered potential votes to watch. Alexander, though an ally of McConnell's, is considered an institutionalist and is retiring, freeing him from the guaranteed political blowback that would come from Trump and his supporters for wanting to delay a Supreme Court vote. Portman, meanwhile, has had breaks with Trump over high-profile issues including the emergency declaration for the border wall.
Their decisions don't close the door for Democrats altogether, but they underscore the uphill battle Democrats are likely face.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), the party's 2012 presidential nominee, is considered another lawmaker to watch. He is one of the president's most vocal critics within the caucus and viewed as a potential swing vote. He was the only GOP senator to vote for one of the articles of impeachment earlier this year.
But even if Romney comes out in support of not holding a vote before the election, Democrats would still need to pick up one additional GOP senator to prevent a 50-50 tie that Vice President Mike Pence would be all but guaranteed to break.
In addition to Romney, Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) are both considered votes to watch.
Grassley, a current member and the former chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said earlier this year that “in the abstract, I would do the same thing in 2020 that I would in 2016" if a Supreme Court vacancy occurred this year. His statement released in the wake of Ginsburg's death did not address what the Senate should do if Trump nominates someone to fill Ginsburg's seat.
Gardner also did not address what the Senate should do. He declined to say, when questioned while speaking before a business group on Saturday, if he stood by his 2016 comments that whoever won the 2016 election should appoint the successor to the late Justice Antonin Scalia's seat.
Gardner's sidestepping comes as several other vulnerable GOP incumbents have endorsed holding a vote this year, further reducing the pool of swing votes for Democrats.
Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.), who is running for a second term, said on Sunday that the Senate should act on the nomination, painting the Supreme Court battle as a central difference between himself and Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff.
"Once the President announces a nomination, the United States Senate should begin the process that moves this to a full Senate vote," Perdue said.
Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), who is running against Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock, added in his own statement that the Senate "should move forward with confirming President Trump's nominee."
Perdue and Daines join GOP Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Martha McSally (R-Ariz.), Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) and Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who are each on the ballot in November and have called for the Senate to act on Trump's forthcoming nomination.
Murkowski: Supreme Court nominee should not be taken up before... Battle lines drawn on precedent in Supreme Court fight Graham, in a tweet linking to his campaign fundraising page, said he was "dead set" on confirming whoever Trump picks.
"I will support President @realDonaldTrump in any effort to move forward regarding the recent vacancy created by the passing of Justice Ginsburg," he added in a separate tweet.
Scott Wong contributed to this report.
Two noes, two abstentions, and Pence.
Theatre.
After a fraudulent impeachment, revenge is a dish best served COLD. Ice cold in fact.
Pray and move forward in haste.
Collins will have to vote for any good nominee or her political career is ended. She knows it. So while she’d prefer not having to vote at all, she will do it. Murkowski could well vote no just because she’s a mental case but that too would terminate her career And I think she doesn’t want to bomb out just yet.
This is the defining moment of McConnell's career and he know it.
Yup, withhold all funding and endorsements.
Make them seethe.
“Supreme Court honors Ginsburg with black crepe...”
So Anti-fa like. How nice. Red crepe? The Ruth Baader- Meinhoff Ginsberg Gang would’ve liked it.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=meinhof+baader+gang&t=osx&ia=web
I guess you can’t hurry love...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQ7uXX9K7Sk
R.I.H. Ruthless
Can President Trump make a “recess appointment” to the Supreme Court if the Senate adjourns for the election?
Roy Blunt is also a YES
“Two noes, two abstentions”
49-47.
And THIS, ladies and gents, is where we’re going to see McConnell’s value to our cause. This is where he shines the most.
You're correct. For all his flaws, this type of thing is one area in which he has a high degree of skill.
I don't think it's too melodramatic to say that McConnell will emerge either revered as a hero, or hated as a failure.
And Pence would make it 50-47, yes?
Do your thing Mitch!
This is the defining moment of McConnell’s career and he know it.
= = = = =
Amen.
Once in a lifetime opportunity.
Your guessing four abstentions? I hope you are right. Keep Pence out of it.
I should note that I think that the two noes will be on procedural grounds, and expect that they will shift to abstentions for the vote, and that the procedural abstentions may (or may not) vote yes on the actual vote.
Mitch has been good with the judges and did a very good job during the impeachment. He nails this and he deserves a tiny bit of respect.
Lindsey Graham will never deserve respect.
No one should be rewarded for being a Republican senator and backing Trump.
That’s what they are supposed to do.
but my condo rounding up the needed numbers in this day and age is something that deserves praise
“Your guessing four abstentions? “
My bad!
Good.
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