WASHINGTON – Senator Charles Grassley, perched in elected office since the year 1959, on Monday made the following statement about the current Supreme Court vacancy after the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg:
“In 2016, with an open seat on the U.S. Supreme Court and a window into the type of justice he’d nominate, the American people elected Donald Trump president of the United States. The vacancy was among the key issues on voters’ minds at the polls.
“In 2018, having witnessed President Trump appoint two justices to the Court, as well as the ugly tactics deployed by Senate Democrats during the confirmation process, the American people reaffirmed their support for the President by expanding the Republican majority in the Senate, the body tasked with evaluating the President’s nominees to the court.
“Over the years, and as recently as July, I’ve consistently said that taking up and evaluating a nominee in 2020 would be a decision for the current chairman of the Judiciary Committee and the Senate Majority Leader. Both have confirmed their intentions to move forward, so that’s what will happen. Once the hearings are underway, it’s my responsibility to evaluate the nominee on the merits, just as I always have. The Constitution gives the Senate that authority, and the American people’s voices in the most recent election couldn’t be clearer. While there was ambiguity about the American people’s will for the direction of the Supreme Court in 2016 under a divided government, there is no such ambiguity in 2020.
“Our colleagues on the other side made clear long ago their intentions to upend norm after norm to hijack the judiciary. From Bork to Estrada to Kavanaugh; from torching the filibuster to threatening justices who rule against their wishes, Senate Democrats have a long, sordid history of politicizing the courts and the confirmation process. Even before the current vacancy, Democrats discussed plans to pack the Supreme Court and eliminate the legislative filibuster, just because they can’t get the results they want at the polls. In this case the people have spoken, putting power to appoint and confirm a nominee to the Supreme Court in one party.
“So, make no mistake: if the shoe were on the other foot, Senate Democrats wouldn’t hesitate to use their Constitutional authority and anything else at their disposal to fill this seat.”
In 2016, citing a divided government, then-Judiciary Committee Chairman Grassley and his committee colleagues exercised their constitutional authority to withhold consent on any nominee prior to the completion of the election. In a 2016 letter to Leader McConnell, the senators wrote:
“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.”
The circumstances are different in 2020, where the American people elected a Republican President and Senate in 2016 and expanded the Republican Senate majority in 2018.
Remember when Obama said, we won you lost.
The truth really hurts now that the shoe is on other foot. Trump and the Senate have every right to elect a new Judge. And most of us will be thankful for these judges to help protect our religion, our 99.9% great police, business, economy and wonderful American way of life. And protect and treat us as equals no matter what your color. And protect the constitution that this country was built upon.
The best thing that could happen in this country is limited terms at the senate and congress levels the same as the president, we can’t expect Trump to clean everything up.
Thank you Senator Grassley for all you do for the workin folks of Iowa.
BBM
BLACK BABIES MATTER
These PUBLIC EDUCATED MSNBC watching fools have 0 knowledge of the history of our country nor do they understand the constitution or even know any of the amendments in which many have died to protect .
Bet you flunked history and government in high school.
In 2015 the Republicans controlled SENATE you damn fools.
Grassley has become a yes man to Trump with no balls.
I voted for this man in every election & he has always keep his word like a true Iowan until now. He has thrown his Iowa Values out the window for Trump & is now just anther Trump A$$ kisser. Sad
Felons can’t vote.
There was, for example, Hunter’s involvement with an entity called Burnham Financial Group, where his business partner Devon Archer — who’d been at Yale with Hunter — sat on the board of directors. Burnham became the vehicle for a number of murky deals abroad, involving connected oligarchs in Kazakhstan and state-owned businesses in China.
Researching the Nov 3 election – Trump/Pence are up for reelection and so are I believe 35 other congressmen/women if NO outcome by Jan 20th the speaker of the House of Representative would become interm president — BUT BUT Nancy is also up for re-election so her seat is also null and void until election results are verified – SO! who is not up for re-election and second in command in the House – YEP! You guessed it !!!! CHARLES GRASSLEY – HE would be president until results finalized – WOW -an Iowan president again -for a while anyway.
Why is this old cuss still in the federal Senate after almost 50 years? Long past due for term limits.
Racing with Biden for the longest tenure
You are an IDIOT . The President has a constitutional obligation to fill that seat. The Senate has the constitutional obligation to confirm or reject. If you don’t hold BOTH institutions you will not get a Justice.
Didn’t the Constitution matter in 2015?
We elected Republicans to the senate for one reason.
It was obama.
The constitution was followed.
Like Obama said elections have consequences
As Obama said elections have consequences.
So, it didn’t matter. That is the real problem with you right wingnuts. If someone did something remotely similar to the things Trump does, then it is ok that Trump did it. If the Constitution was important in 2015, it isn’t important today if it involves Trump.
The “ugly tactic” is being hypocritical. McConell didn’t allow Obama to nominate his pick for SC 8 months before an election because, according to McConnell “It was up to the next president to choose” yet here they are doing exactly what they claimed was wrong in 2018. That’s what is ugly.
Try to at least look first.
On March 16, 2016, President Barack Obama nominated Merrick Garland for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States to succeed Antonin Scalia, who had died one month earlier.
A lame duck president, with an opposing senate is not going to get their nominee confirmed. Just a bit of COMMON SENSE, but your a lacking liberal.
That’s funny coming from a criminal lovin’, low IQ Repugnicant.
OLD DRUNK PUPPET GRASSLEY!
Drunk puppy….Nancy you mean
He might be a drunk puppet, but he’s right!!!
Who would have thought that Donald Trump would be putting all these justices on the high court. Abortion will never go away and neither will the shame associated with it. It should not be funded by public taxes ever. It’s wrong. So after so much crap going on from the #metoo marches, the call for civil disobedience by sore losers, riots and looting associated with black justice, the massive fires resulting in very poor air quality for millions, the economic downturn that was years in the making, and of course the pandemic that is a true killing machine of the weakened immune systems of people. It does appear that all this bad luck happening all within a short span of time is all a coincidence. Not on your life. You reap what you sow! Amen
It’s a sign from God!
more like hell.
That’s whats coming!