Democrats Pledge To Filibuster Trump Supreme Court Picks


Now that President Trump is ready to name his nominee for the Supreme Court seat left vacant by the late Antonin Scalia, Democrats are already scheming to keep said nominee off the scheme. Senator Jeff Merkley, who is leading the effort, promised that he will not only oppose anyone other than Merrick Garland, who was previously nominated by Barack Obama, but that he will filibuster against them as well:

“It’s a move that will prompt a massive partisan battle over Trump’s nominee and could lead to an unraveling of the Senate rules if Merkley is able to get 41 Democrats to join him in a filibuster. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) also reminded her Twitter followers on Sunday night that Supreme Court nominees can still be blocked by the Senate minority, unlike all other executive and judicial nominees.

Any senator can object to swift approval of a nominee and require a supermajority. Asked directly whether he would do that, Merkley replied: “I will definitely object to a simple majority” vote.

Merkley’s party leader, Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, has said he will fight “tooth and nail” any nominee who isn’t “mainstream.”

White House press secretary Sean Spicer responded to Democrats’ plans by blaming them for playing “political games” and sending a “sad message” about how they will treat Trump’s nominees — though he did not address the GOP’s treatment of Garland, which is viewed by Democrats as a precedent-changing political tactic.

“Before they’ve even heard who this individual is, you’ve got some of them saying, absolutely no,” Spicer said. “The default used to be, unless qualified, confirmed. And it is now going to, always no. And I think that’s a pretty sad message.”

It would be only the second time in modern history that the Senate has mounted a filibuster against a nominee. Democrats, including then-Sen. Barack Obama, tried to block the confirmation of Samuel Alito in 2006 but failed. Obama’s Supreme Court nominees each received more than 60 votes, but Republicans did not require a supermajority or the procedural vote that Merkley will demand.”

Source: Politico

 



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