The top Democrat in the Senate is warning President-elect Donald Trump about his eventual Supreme Court choice: Name a “mainstream” nominee or Democrats will oppose the individual “with everything we have.”
“My worry is, with the hard right running the show, that the likelihood of the nominee being mainstream is decreasing every day,” New York Sen. Chuck Schumer said Wednesday in an interview.
Schumer made the comments a day after saying on MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” that Democrats will “absolutely” do their best to keep the Supreme Court seat open if Trump doesn’t nominate someone whom Democrats could support.
The seat has been vacant for 11 months since the death of Justice Antonin Scalia last February. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., blocked consideration of President Barack Obama’s nominee, Judge Merrick Garland, saying the next president should make the pick. The strategy paid off, and the Republican Senate will consider whomever Trump nominates.
As minority leader, Schumer won’t have the same power as McConnell to block a nominee. But his words signal that Democrats could filibuster and force Republicans to round up 60 votes to move ahead. That will be a challenge for the GOP since they only hold 52 seats.
If Republicans can’t get enough Democratic votes, then they do have another option – change the rules and curb the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees. Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., did that for lower court nominees and other nominations in 2013.
Schumer didn’t define what he meant by “mainstream.” But he did say on Maddow’s show that Garland, Obama’s unsuccessful pick, was “a very moderate, mainstream nominee.” Garland has been considered a liberal-leaning moderate in his years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
(AP)
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4 Responses
Don’t worry, Chuckie, the nominees will all be “mainstream”. Except this time around, WE get to define “mainstream”!
Let’s see if this new GOP majority will have the fortitude to prevail, or will they weasel out to Chuckie ( beloshon nekia) and the Dems. Let’s watch Mitch McConnell & company , GOP electorate sellouts to Obama in the past, and see if they understood the message of the Nov. elections.
Like Kagan and Sotomayor were “mainstream, moderate ” ???
No, Sen. Shumer, when Dems held the majority, they did not look for moderates.
Since Obama was so irresponsible in naming for the high office of Supreme Court, a reasonable pick is one who balances out those justices, so it should be quite right from center.
Obama’s pick, in his last year, when Repubs held the Senate is totally irrelevant, even if he may have been more “mainstream” than his former picks.
To quote the one and only, G-Ds gift to humanity, a man -no a diety to the left- Barak HUSSAIN Obama we won you lost and losing has consequences. You don’t get to dictate to the republicans who we get to pick.