“As we write, we are in the midst of a great national debate over the course our country will take in the coming years. The Presidential election is well underway. Americans have already begun to cast their votes. As we mourn the tragic loss of Justice Antonin Scalia, and celebrate his life’s work, the American people are presented with an exceedingly rare opportunity to decide, in a very real and concrete way, the direction the Court will take over the next generation. We believe The People should have this opportunity.
“Over the last few days, much has been written about the constitutional power to fill Supreme Court vacancies, a great deal of it inaccurate. Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution is clear. The President may nominate judges of the Supreme Court. But the power to grant, or withhold, consent to such nominees rests exclusively with the United States Senate. This is not a difficult or novel constitutional question. As Minority Leader Harry Reid observed in 2005, ‘The duties of the Senate are set forth in the U.S. Constitution. Nowhere in that document does it say the Senate has a duty to give the Presidential nominees a vote. It says appointments shall be made with the advice and consent of the Senate. That is very different than saying every nominee receives a vote.’
“We intend to exercise the constitutional power granted the Senate under Article II, Section 2 to ensure the American people are not deprived of the opportunity to engage in a full and robust debate over the type of jurist they wish to decide some of the most critical issues of our time. Not since 1932 has the Senate confirmed in a presidential election year a Supreme Court nominee to a vacancy arising in that year. And it is necessary to go even further back — to 1888 — in order to find an election year nominee who was nominated and confirmed under divided government, as we have now.
“Accordingly, given the particular circumstances under which this vacancy arises, we wish to inform you of our intention to exercise our constitutional authority to withhold consent on any nominee to the Supreme Court submitted by this President to fill Justice Scalia’s vacancy. Because our decision is based on constitutional principle and born of a necessity to protect the will of the American people, this Committee will not hold hearings on any Supreme Court nominee until after our next President is sworn in on January 20, 2017.”
“[No, the Senate does] not remotely [‘have an obligation to at least go through the process and have an up or down vote’]…
“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. And what this means, Chuck, is we ought to make the 2016 election a referendum on the Supreme Court...
“The consequence of a four-four tie is that the judgment of the court of appeals is affirmed by an equally-divided vote. This has happened many times in history that there have been vacancies, sometimes on a closely-contentious case. They’ll hold it over for the next term, when the replacement justice arrives.” - Feb 14, 2016
“There will be plenty of time for debate on [whether a Republican-controlled Senate should hold votes on a President Hillary Clinton’s nominees]. There is certainly long historical precedent for a Supreme Court with fewer justices. I would note, just recently, that Justice Breyer observed that the vacancy is not impacting the ability of the court to do its job. That’s a debate that we are going to have.” - Oct 26, 2016
“I believe that the president next week should nominate a successor to the court… and I think that it is critical that the Senate takes up and confirms that successor before election day...
“We have a responsibility to do our job. We cannot let Election Day come and go and with a 4-4 court… we risk a constitutional crisis.” Sept 18, 2020 -
“We cannot have Election Day come and go with a 4-4 Court. We risk a constitutional crisis if we do not have a 9-Justice Supreme Court, particularly when there is such a risk of a contested election.” Sept 19, 2020 -
We cannot have Election Day come and go with a 4-4 Court. We risk a constitutional crisis if we do not have a 9-Justice Supreme Court, particularly when there is such a risk of a contested election.
“I believe @realDonaldTrump should nominate a successor next week and the Senate should take up and confirm that successor before Election Day. This nomination is why @realDonaldTrump was elected. This confirmation is why the voters voted for a Republican majority in the U.S. Senate.” Sept 19, 2020 -
We are one vote away from losing our fundamental constitutional liberties. I believe @realDonaldTrump should nominate a successor next week and the Senate should take up and confirm that successor before Election Day. pic.twitter.com/pS8i860RTa
“With Democrats already calling to challenge this election, our nation is at risk of a constitutional crisis if we do not have a 9-justice #SCOTUS. Joining @GStephanopoulos on @ThisWeekABC at 9:15am ET to talk about why we need to fill this vacancy before Election Day.” Sept 20, 2020 -
With Democrats already calling to challenge this election, our nation is at risk of a constitutional crisis if we do not have a 9-justice #SCOTUS.
“I believe the right thing to do is for the Senate to take up this nomination and to confirm the nominee before Election Day...
“Now, on the question of precedent, look, we had this fight at the end of the Barack Obama term. And at the time all the Democrats were saying confirm the nominee, confirm the nominee, and all the Republicans were saying we’re not going to confirm the nominee. And so we’ve got a situation — you just played a quote from me in 2016. We can play that game all day long where you can play a quote from Chuck Schumer saying you’ve got to confirm the nominee…
“I don’t know . I don’t know the answer to that. I believe we will. I think it is particularly important that the Senate take it up and confirm this – this nomination before the election..” Sept 20, 2020 -
“I don’t know … I believe we will, ” Sen Ted Cruz tells @gstephanopoulos when asked if Senate GOP have a the votes to confirm a Trump SCOTUS nomination ahead of Nov. 3 election, adding it’s “important” to fill the seat if there’s a contested election. https://t.co/qNV4rbeIYapic.twitter.com/bRlF8YBTYR
“This nomination is why the American people elected @realDonaldTrump as president. This confirmation is why the American people voted for a Republican majority in the U.S. Senate. We must do our job and fulfill our promises to the American people.” Sept 20, 2020 -
This nomination is why the American people elected @realDonaldTrump as president.
This confirmation is why the American people voted for a Republican majority in the U.S. Senate.
“When faced with this question in 2016, there was a divided government... But that is not the case today. The presidency and the majority of the Senate are held by the same party…
As we approach what is likely to be a contested election that hangs in the balance of the Supreme Court, our nation is at risk of a constitutional crisis without nine justices on the bench...
“President Trump…is expected to formally nominate one of those candidates as soon as next week. When he does, the Senate has a constitutional responsibility to advise and consent. We also have an electoral responsibility to uphold the will of the American people. We must deliver on both, and we must deliver without delay.” Sept 20, 2020 -
“The right thing for the Senate to do regarding the #SCOTUS vacancy is to take up @realDonaldTrump’s nomination and confirm the nominee before Election Day.” Sept 21, 2020 -
“The American people elected @realDonaldTrump in 2016 and expanded the Republican majority in the Senate in 2018 because they want principled constitutionalists on the court.” Sept 21, 2020 -
The American people elected @realDonaldTrump in 2016 and expanded the Republican majority in the Senate in 2018 because they want principled constitutionalists on the court. https://t.co/O8GUAtzWM7
