Mitt Romney Supports A Vote On A Trump Supreme Court Nominee
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said Tuesday that he supports the Senate voting on a Supreme Court nominee ahead of the November election, clearing the path for Republicans to solidify the court’s conservative majority.
“The Constitution gives the President the power to nominate and the Senate the authority to provide advice and consent on Supreme Court nominees,” Romney said in a statement. “Accordingly, I intend to follow the Constitution and precedent in considering the President’s nominee. If the nominee reaches the Senate floor, I intend to vote based upon their qualifications.”
Republicans now appear to have enough votes to move forward with a Trump nominee, even before one had been formally announced by the White House.
Romney said his decision “is not the result of a subjective test of ‘fairness’ which, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder,” and argued “the historical precedent of election year nominations is that the Senate generally does not confirm an opposing party’s nominee but does confirm a nominee of its own.”
Only two Republican senators have called for a delay in filling the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat: Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, both moderates who have a record of sometimes breaking with their party’s leadership.
With the GOP holding a 53-47 majority in the upper chamber, Democrats need at least two more Republicans to join them to stop a quick Supreme Court confirmation ― an unlikely scenario.
Collins said the nomination should be held for whichever candidate wins the presidential election, as was done in 2016 after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Murkowski said she wouldn’t support confirming a new justice until after the election ― leaving open the possibility of action on the vacancy in the lame-duck Congress.
Although Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) hasn’t laid out a specific timeline, President Donald Trump is pushing for a vote on...
