Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death leaves a vacancy on the nation’s highest court, and U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr. wants the Senate to wait until after the election to vote on her replacement.
Casey, D-Pa., called on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to follow the precedent he set four years ago. In 2016, McConnell and Senate Republicans refused a vote on President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland.
“Consistent with the precedent set by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in 2016, Justice Ginsburg’s seat should not be filled until the presidential election concludes and the candidate chosen by voters is sworn into office," Casey said in a statement late Friday night.
Ginsburg died Friday night at the age of 87. Hours after her death was announced, McConnell said the Senate will indeed vote on a nominee put forward by President Donald Trump.
On Saturday, Trump said on Twitter he would soon be submitting a nominee to replace Ginsburg.
“We were put in this position of power and importance to make decisions for the people who so proudly elected us, the most important of which has long been considered to be the selection of United States Supreme Court Justices,” Trump said. “We have this obligation, without delay!”
Democrats have said putting forth a nominee less than two months before the election is hypocritical, in light of what happened four years ago when Obama tried to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court.
Obama named Garland as his nominee following the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, a powerful conservative figure on the court. McConnell said in 2016, the Republican Senate was working with a Democratic president in the final year of his administration. Now, a Republican Senate works with a Republican president. McConnell argues the circumstances are different.
“President Trump’s nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate,” McConnell said in a statement issued Friday night.
Now, the timing is different related to the election. Obama submitted Garland’s nomination in March 2016, eight months before the election. This year, a vacancy on the Supreme Court has emerged less than seven weeks before the presidential election.
If Trump submits a nominee, U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., looms as a critical vote. Toomey issued a statement of condolences Saturday but didn’t indicate whether or not he would vote for a nominee to replace her.
Toomey noted he usually disagreed with Ginsburg’s legal views but admired her civility and said she “left an indelible mark that will resonate for generations.”
“Renowned for her legal intellect and sharp opinions, Justice Ginsburg served on our nation’s highest court for nearly three decades with distinction and honor," Toomey said in a statement. "As just the second woman to serve on the Supreme Court, Justice Ginsburg was a trailblazer in the legal profession.”
In 2016, Toomey said the Senate shouldn’t vote on Garland’s nomination. He said at the time, the vote on Garland could change the ideological balance of the Supreme Court. Months before the election, Toomey said in an opinion piece Americans should decide on the next president first.
"First, the balance of the Supreme Court is at stake, and we have an election right around the corner. With lifetime tenure, the next justice will determine the Court’s balance for a generation.
“In that light, I believe it is sensible to allow the American people to participate in the choice of Justice Scalia’s successor less than seven months from now.”
Toomey also said he was troubled by aspects of Garland’s record, consistently backing federal environmental regulations in court challenges.
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, the former vice president, said the Senate shouldn’t act on a nominee until after the election.
“Tonight, and in the coming days, we should be focused on the loss of Justice Ginsburg and her enduring legacy," Biden said in a statement. “But just so there is no doubt, let me be clear: The voters should pick a President, and that President should select a successor to Justice Ginsburg."
“This was the position that the Republican Senate took in 2016, when there were nearly nine months before the election," Biden said. "That is the position the United States Senate must take now, when the election is less than two months away. We are talking about the Constitution and the Supreme Court. That institution should not be subject to politics.”
In a statement late Friday, Trump praised Ginsburg.
“Renowned for her brilliant mind and powerful dissents at the Supreme Court, Justice Ginsburg demonstrated that one can disagree without being disagreeable toward one’s colleagues or different points of view,” Trump said. “Her opinions, including well-known decisions regarding the legal equality of women and the disabled, have inspired all Americans, and generations of great legal minds.”
Note: This story was updated to reflect President Trump’s statement that he would soon submit a nominee and a statement from U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey.
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