Two Republican senators have publicly opposed voting for a new Supreme Court candidate ahead of the Nov. 3 election, following the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Susan Collins, R-Maine, was the first to break ranks Saturday by stating that she believed replacing Ginsburg should be a decision by the president-elect on November 3.
"Due to the proximity of the presidential election, I do not believe that the Senate should vote for a nominee before the vote
. The decision of a life judge for the Supreme Court must be made by whoever is elected on November 3," the policy stated.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, became the
second Republican senator to publicly oppose it on
Sunday
.
"For weeks I have said that I would not support filling a Supreme Court vacancy so close to the election. Unfortunately, what was hypothetical then is now a reality, but my position has not changed," Murkowski said in a statement.
"I did not support accepting a nomination eight months before the 2016 election to fill the vacancy of the late Judge [Antonin] Scalia.
We are now even closer to the 2020 election, less than two months away, and I think the same standard, "he added.
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Murkowski's opposition comes as Trump pledged this weekend to quickly fill the vacant Supreme Court seat and nominate a woman to fill it.
Republicans have a majority in the Senate, so they only need 51 votes to confirm a new Supreme Court justice once he is formally nominated (President Trump said Saturday that he will nominate a woman and announce it this week. week).
There are 53 Republican senators, and if there is a tie, Vice President Mike Pence would break it with his vote.
With the opposition of Murkoswki and Collins,
the future of voting for a replacement before November 3 could falter if two more Republican senators (four in all) break party discipline.
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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentycky, promised to call a vote for Trump's nominee, but Democrats responded that Republicans should follow the precedent that Republican lawmakers set in 2016 by refusing to consider an election of the Supreme Court in the run-up to the elections.
Ginsburg, admired for her work on the highest court for more decades, died Friday at age 87 of complications from pancreatic cancer.
With information from NBC News and AP.