Republican Party , September 29, 2020 U.S. Senate Majority Leader
Mitch McConnell vowed to bring a Trump nominee to replace Ginsburg to a confirmation vote in the Senate. He distinguished the refusal of the Senate to allow a vote for Garland by stating that the Republicans successfully retaining control of the Senate in the
2018 elections gave them a mandate to fill a vacancy that Obama, in his last year as a "
lame-duck president", did not possess: Two Republican senators,
Susan Collins of Maine and
Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, said the Senate should not vote on Barrett's nomination until after the presidential election. Collins said, "In fairness to the American people ... the decision on a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court should be made by the President who is elected on November 3rd." Senator
Mitt Romney said that in "the circumstance where a nominee of a president is from a different party than the Senate then, more often than not, the Senate does not confirm. So the Garland decision was consistent with that. On the other hand, when there's a nominee of a party that is in the same party as the Senate, then typically they do confirm." Trump said that the
Republican Party has an "obligation" to replace Ginsburg as soon as possible, and that previous vacancies in an election year all resulted in a timely nomination by the incumbent.
Barrett with Republican senators, September 29–October 1, 2020 Democratic Party speaks against Barrett's confirmation speaks against Barrett's confirmation Immediately after Ginsburg's death was announced, Senate Minority Leader
Chuck Schumer tweeted: "The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president", echoing verbatim a quote McConnell made in 2016 regarding the vacancy left by Scalia's death. Massachusetts senator
Ed Markey stated that, if McConnell violated the precedent set by the Garland nomination and held a confirmation vote, then Democrats should consider "expanding the Supreme Court"; the number of Justices has been set in law at nine
since 1869, and since then only
Franklin D. Roosevelt has made a serious attempt to increase the number of justices on the court (his "
court-packing plan", intended to ensure that his
New Deal economic reforms would be ruled constitutional). In a conference call with the
Senate Democratic Caucus on September 19, Schumer said that "nothing was off the table" if the Republicans began the process of filling the vacant seat and specifically mentioned an increase in court membership and complete abolition of the
Senate filibuster. Schumer scoffed at Leader McConnell's assertion that such claims are "hysterical". Schumer said he would not meet with Barrett, primarily because "the whole [nomination] process has been illegitimate." Additional Democratic party senators who have said that they would not meet with her include
Jeff Merkley,
Bob Casey Jr.,
Richard Blumenthal, and
Mazie Hirono. Schumer applied
Senate rules that delay its business during the period of the confirmation, under whose terms, no
Senate committees or subcommittees (except those on
Appropriations and
Budget) can meet after the Senate has been in session for two hours or past 2:00 p.m. unless one of the following occurs: (1) the Senate grants
unanimous consent for them to meet; (2) both the majority and minority leaders or designees agree to the meeting, and their agreement is announced on the Senate floor; or (3) the Senate adopts a
privileged motion for the meeting. Should a committee meet during a restricted time period without such permission, any action that it takes—such as ordering a bill or nomination reported to the Senate—is "null, void, and of no effect." In response to the two-hour rule being invoked, a Senate committee could cancel its meeting or reschedule it to periods not covered by the rule—for example, in the morning before the Senate has convened or after it has adjourned. The Senate could also recess or adjourn in order for a committee to sit during the hours restricted by the two-hour rule, and in some cases it has done so in order for a committee to hear testimony or act on a measure or matter. Nancy Pelosi, the
Speaker of the House of Representatives, said the
House Democratic Caucus were also not ruling out any options other than a
government shutdown after
This Week host
George Stephanopoulos asked her whether the House would
impeach Trump or the
Attorney General,
William Barr, to delay confirmation hearings during the
lame-duck session.
Public opinion Polls prior to Ginsburg's death highlighted the high interest in the nomination of the next Supreme Court justice. A Fox News poll concluded in early September 2020 showing that 52% of likely voters trusted Biden in nominating the next justice, compared to 45% of respondents trusting Trump's choice. A
Marquette Law School poll completed on September 15 had 59% of likely Biden voters rating the Supreme Court as "very important" in their presidential choice; 51% of likely Trump voters responding in kind. The same poll found that 67% of respondents believed that the Senate should hold confirmation hearings in 2020 for any vacancy, with little variation along party lines. Polls conducted by
Siena on behalf of
The New York Times in the Senate battlegrounds of Maine, North Carolina and Arizona and released on the day of Ginsburg's death indicated that voters prefer, 53% to 41%, that Biden must select the next justice. After her death, a poll conducted by
Ipsos on behalf of
Reuters and released September 20 indicated that 62% of respondents agreed that the vacancy should not be filled until after the election, 23% disagreed, and 15% were unsure; approximately 80% of the Democrats and half of the Republicans polled opposed filling the vacancy. The Ipsos poll also found that potential impact on the election was uncertain: 30% of respondents said the vacancy increased the chances of them voting for Biden; 25% said it increased the chance of them voting for Trump; and 38% said it made no difference. Polls asking about the specific nominee tend to be more favorable than polls about President Trump filling the vacancy. A
Morning Consult/
Politico poll conducted from October 2–4 found 46% plurality support for confirming Judge Barrett as a Supreme Court Justice, with 31% opposed. By October 14, the same poll found support had grown to 48% among registered voters, with just 31% against her nomination entirely. By October 21, the same poll found that support for Barrett had grown to 51% among registered voters, with 28% opposed.
Senate caucus responses The balance of power in the Senate was in favor of the Republicans, by 53 seats to 47, and
Mike Pence, as the
President of the Senate, would have held the
casting vote in the event of a tie.
Joe Manchin of
West Virginia, the only Democrat to support
Brett Kavanaugh's nomination in 2018, pledged to vote against Trump's nominee before the presidential election. Therefore, at least three or four Republican defections would have been needed to deny confirmation to a nominee. Three Republican senators were believed to be possible swing votes against a Trump nomination or nominee:
Susan Collins of
Maine faced a difficult
re-election campaign in part due to her vote to confirm Kavanaugh in 2018;
Lisa Murkowski of
Alaska was the only Republican senator to oppose Kavanaugh's nomination; and
Mitt Romney of
Utah was the only Republican senator to vote to convict Trump in his
impeachment trial earlier in 2020. On September 20, Collins and Murkowski both reiterated their earlier comments that they opposed holding a vote this close to the election, but did not rule out voting to confirm during the
lame-duck session. Murkowski, before the death of Ginsburg, had said that she would not vote to confirm a nominee ahead of inauguration day. A week later she said that she still would vote against holding a vote, but if one were to be held she might vote to confirm, the quality of the confirmation process being a factor. Murkowski, who voted against a motion on the Senate floor to proceed to executive session to consider the nomination, and also against the cloture motion to prevent a filibuster, However, Graham committed to supporting a Trump nominee in 2020, claiming that the contentious circumstances of
Kavanaugh's confirmation, together with the action of the Democrats in removing the power of the minority to block lower-court judicial nominees, had changed the rules. Grassley said that if he were still chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and this vacancy occurred, he would not have a hearing on it but that since he is no longer chairman and since the nomination is a matter for the Senate leadership, he will "evaluate the nominee on the merits" during the confirmation process. On September 22, Mitt Romney of Utah stated that he supported holding a vote on Trump's nominee to fill the vacancy without committing to vote for the nominee, saying he would vote "based upon their qualifications". By September 21, Graham claimed that the Republicans had the votes to confirm a nominee both in committee and on the Senate floor, and McConnell claimed there was enough time for a confirmation prior to the election. 51 Republican senators supported giving Barrett a hearing, with only Collins and Murkowski in opposition. Following the
White House COVID-19 outbreak, there was speculation that Republicans
Thom Tillis and
Mike Lee could become unable to attend Senate sessions or committee meetings, having tested positive for COVID-19, and therefore could potentially jeopardize Mitch McConnell's plan for a swift confirmation. Sen.
Tom Cotton responded by saying that "there is a long and venerable tradition of ill or medically infirm senators being wheeled in to cast critical votes on the Senate floor." However, both Senators recovered and voted to confirm Barrett. == Confirmation process ==