Supreme Court Justice
“My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed,” Ruth Bader Ginsburg told her granddaughter, Clara Spera as reported by NPR
Tell the Senate: Delay the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett
Senator Bernard (Bernie) Sanders
September 27, 2020: “Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court would be a disaster for our country and our movement. Add your name if you agree: the Senate must do all they can to delay the nomination process.”
Senator Mitch McConnell
February 13, 2016: “The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice,” McConnell said in a statement released after Scalia’s death. “Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president.”
Senator Lindsey Graham
“I want you to use my words against me. If there’s a Republican president in 2016 and a vacancy occurs in the last year of the first term, you can say Lindsey Graham said let’s let the next president, whoever it might be, make that nomination.”
Senator Ted Cruz
“It has been 80 years since a Supreme Court vacancy was nominated and confirmed in an election year. There is a long tradition that you don’t do this in an election year.”
Senator Cory Gardner
“I think we’re too close to the election. The president who is elected in November should be the one who makes this decision.”
Senator Marco Rubio
“I don’t think we should be moving on a nominee in the last year of this president’s term — I would say that if it was a Republican president .”
Senator Rob Portman
“It is common practice for the Senate to stop acting on lifetime appointments during the last year of a presidential term, and it’s been nearly 80 years since any president was permitted to immediately fill a vacancy that arose in a presidential election year.”
And a number of senators have weighed in even more recently:
Senator Lisa Murkowski, September 2020
“I would not vote to confirm a Supreme Court nominee. We are 50 some days away from an election.”
Senator Chuck Grassley , May 2020:
“You can’t have one rule for Democratic presidents and another rule for Republican presidents.”
Senator Susan Collins, September 2020:
“I think that’s too close, I really do,” when asked about appointing a justice in October.
Senator Mitch McConnell Hours after the court announced Ginsburg’s death.
“President Trump’s nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate,”
The Observations of Jaco 