Vacancy Watch: Tuesday, September 22, 2020

Blog

Zack Ford

September 22, 2020

AFJ is committed to keeping you informed about our fight to keep Trump from stealing #OurCourt.

RAPID TIMELINE: President Trump said Monday he will announce his Supreme Court pick Friday or Saturday. One of the top contenders from his shortlist, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, visited the White House Monday afternoon and met with Trump.

HYPOCRISY KNOWS NO BOUNDS: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell confirmed his plans to push a confirmation fight through without hesitation. But nobody outside Senate Republicans is falling for the claim that McConnell and others have been peddling that it’s somehow a different circumstance when the Senate and White House are controlled by the same party. The senators and their allies have clearly moved the goalposts to suit their needs:

Sen. Lindsey Graham justifies his treatment of Merrick Garland: "If an opening comes in the last year of President Trump's term, and the primary process has started, we'll wait to the next election" pic.twitter.com/E8N7a8IlIG

— Yahoo News (@YahooNews) October 3, 2018

The American people are perfectly capable of having their say on the #SCOTUSnominee. So let’s give them a voice. pic.twitter.com/8KyGZTuqoo

— Leader McConnell (@senatemajldr) March 16, 2016

ROMNEY SELLS OUT: While many hoped Sen. Mitt Romney could be convinced to oppose Trump’s nomination, he announced Tuesday morning that he too was carrying water for the fake precedent that justifies filling the seat this close to the election:

My statement regarding the current Supreme Court vacancy: pic.twitter.com/6YO0dPWWXc

— Senator Mitt Romney (@SenatorRomney) September 22, 2020

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer took to the Senate floor Tuesday to call out this “farce”:

The McConnell Rule.

When it’s a presidential election season, you can’t vote on a Supreme Court nominee because “the American people should have a voice.”

Sen. McConnell has exposed that this "principle" was a farce.

Democrats are fighting to honor RBG’s last wish. pic.twitter.com/uuLkDx6tC9

— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) September 22, 2020

DEMOCRATIC SOLIDARITY: There is no doubt that Senate Democrats will stand in solidarity in opposing any eventual nomination. Senators Doug Jones (D-AL) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) both indicated Monday that they oppose moving forward with the nomination before the election. They join Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME), who have already said the same.

STILL A TRAILBLAZER: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will this week become the first woman to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol. Rosa Parks was previously lain in honor after her passing in 2005, but these are not the same thing. Someone lain in state is protected by five guards of honor, representing the five branches of the Armed Forces, while those lain in honor are protected by the civilian-run Capitol Police.

SHORTLIST TRIVIA OF THE DAY: When the Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act in 2012, Amy Coney Barrett criticized the ruling. “Chief Justice Roberts pushed the Affordable Care Act beyond its plausible meaning to save the statute,” she wrote in 2017.

Make sure to follow AFJ on Twitter @AFJustice and check back for regular updates on the fight for #OurCourt.