Romney, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski Emerge as Republican Red Flags in Potential SCOTUS Confirmation
Richard Moorhead
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Republican Senators Mitt Romney of Utah, Susan Collins of Maine, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska have emerged as early ‘red flags’ in the push to appoint a new Supreme Court justice, with the latter two senators having spoken openly of their refusal to vote for a new justice in the runup to a presidential election. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg died on Friday, opening up a vacancy on the court.
Collins allegedly told a New York Times reporter that she wouldn’t vote for a new SCOTUS justice in ‘October’ earlier this month.
News: @SenatorCollins told me earlier this month in Maine that she would not seat a Supreme Court justice in October.
“I think that’s too close, I really do,” she said.
She said she’d also oppose seating a justice in the lame duck if there’s a change in presidents.
— Jonathan Martin (@jmartNYT) September 19, 2020
Murkowski told a reporter with Alaska Public Media that she wouldn’t vote for a new justice before the election, either.
Alaska's @lisamurkowski said today she won't confirm a new SCOTUS justice until after the inauguration day. Fair is fair, she says. My colleague @kcgrove will have a story shortly.
— Liz Ruskin-AK public radio reporter (@lruskin) September 18, 2020
Reports emerged on Friday night that Romney would decline to vote for a court confirmation as well, although they’re yet to be verified.
BREAKING: A high-level Romney insider tells me Mitt Romney has committed to not confirming a Supreme Court nominee until after Inauguration Day 2021. #Mittrevenge #utpol
— Jim Dabakis (@JimDabakis) September 19, 2020
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is pledging to hold confirmation proceedings for a potential Trump Supreme Court nominee, suggesting that a nominee would receive a Senate floor vote before the election. He distinguished between the 2016 blocked nomination of Merrick Garland and the vacancy that arose from the death of Ginsberg, pointing out that a Republican President would be nominating a justice for confirmation through a Republican Senate.
It may be possible to confirm a new SCOTUS justice without the votes of the three-liberally inclined Senate Republicans, as a justice can be confirmed with 50 votes and a vice presidential tiebreaker. Other Republican Senators under the pressure of an ongoing campaign, such as Arizona’s Martha McSally, spoke in favor of the Senate having a floor vote on a tentative Trump administration SCOTUS nominee.
This U.S. Senate should vote on President Trump's next nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court.
— Martha McSally (@MarthaMcSally) September 19, 2020
This could be the most heated Supreme Court confirmation process in history, and some the Senate Republican’s members have already confirmed they’re not standing with conservatives.
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