By Glynn Wilson –
U.S. Senator Doug Jones of Alabama says in no uncertain terms that he does not support voting on a replacement for Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg this close to the 2020 presidential election.
“It is a poor reflection of the state of our national politics that, just hours after Justice Ginsburg’s passing, we were thrust into a divisive partisan fight over her successor, denying the nation the time to mourn this extraordinary American’s death,” he said in a statement on Friday. “Just weeks from a national election, we are confronting a blatant power grab by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the President that will undermine the court and subvert the will of the American people.”
He called Justice Ginsburg “a role model and an inspiration.”
“She was a brilliant and tireless advocate, a champion for fairness and equality, and her efforts have brought our country closer to the ideals upon which it was founded,” he said.
Just four years ago, Senate Majority Leader McConnell held open a Supreme Court seat for ten months before a presidential election because he said time and again that, in an election year, “we must let the American people decide.”
“If confirming a Supreme Court justice ten months prior to a presidential election would have denied the American people a voice, then isn’t he now denying the American people a voice by rushing to confirm a justice just weeks before a presidential election? I believe the answer to this question is a resounding YES. This is especially true given the urgent legislative work we have yet to do.”
He indicated that McConnell and the Senate should turn its focus to protecting the lives and livelihoods of the American people by bringing a new bipartisan COVID-19 relief package up for a vote. The House has already passed a bill.
He also discussed the need to pass the budget, the National Defense Authorization Act to support the military, and a new civil rights bill.
“We need to pass our annual funding bills instead of kicking the can down the road with yet another costly continuing resolution,” he said. “We need to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which has languished in this Senate, in order to protect the right of all Americans to vote and participate in our democracy.”
“Consequently, under these circumstances, I will not support the confirmation of any Supreme Court justice nominee before the election,” he said. “We should not force the country into a brutal and divisive partisan confirmation fight while Americans are already voting to choose the next President. If President Trump is re-elected, I will evaluate any pending or future nominee on their merits and vote for or against the nominee based solely on their qualifications.”
