For Democrats?
Where can they find another 2 Republicans to join these two?
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said on Sunday that the Senate should not take up a Supreme Court nomination before the election, becoming the second GOP senator to voice opposition to a vote before Nov. 3.
“For weeks, I have stated that I would not support taking up a potential Supreme Court vacancy this close to the election. Sadly, what was then a hypothetical is now our reality, but my position has not changed,” Murkowski said in a statement.
“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,” she added.
Murkowski’s statement comes after fellow moderate GOP Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said on Saturday that she also believed the Senate should not vote on a Supreme Court nomination before the election, though she opened the door to the Senate Judiciary Committee holding a hearing in the intervening weeks.
“In fairness to the American people, who will either be re-electing the President or selecting a new one, the decision on a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court should be made by the President who is elected on November 3rd,” Collins said.
Neither Collins nor Murkowski directly addressed in their statements how they would view an attempt to confirm a Supreme Court nominee during the end-of-year lame duck session.
Murkowski’s position, while a win by Democrats, was largely expected. She indicated over the summer that she would not support moving a Supreme Court nominee in the final weeks before the election and reiterated that decision as recently as Friday, hours before news of the death of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
“I would not vote to confirm a Supreme Court nominee. We are 50 some days away from an election,” she said on Friday, according to Alaska Public Media…..
image…granitegrok.com
McConnell is trying to line things up…..
…McConnell can afford to lose only three Republicans, and all Democrats are expected to back Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) in arguing that Ginsburg’s seat should not be filled until 2021. Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) are believed to be possible swing votes, but neither has announced a position yet….
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