WASHINGTON, D.C., Sept. 22, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — Utah Sen. Mitt Romney announced on Tuesday he will support a vote on a new Supreme Court appointment during the current election year.
The appointee would replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died Friday after serving on the Supreme Court since 1993.
Romney released a statement:
“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. The Constitution gives the President the power to nominate and the Senate the authority to provide advice and consent on Supreme Court nominees.
“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.”
Pres. Donald Trump announced shortly after Ginsburg’s death that he would seek to appoint a new judge before the upcoming election. Trump also cast doubt on the statement from a Ginsburg family member, who said the Ginsburg’s final wish is that her post not be filled before the election.
“I don’t know that she said that, or was that written out by Adam Schiff and Schumer and Pelosi?,” Trump said Monday. “I would be more inclined to the second.”
In 2016, Republican lawmakers refused to move forward on Merrick Garland, the Supreme County nominee named by then-president Barack Obama, who had eight months left in office.
The upcoming presidential election, in which Trump faces former Vice President Joe Biden, is on Nov. 3, in six weeks.
