Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee, criticized President Donald Trump and Republican leaders in the Senate on Sunday for trying to rush the replacement of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court.
In a televised speech from the National Constitutional Center,
Biden urged Republican senators not to approve the Supreme Court nomination that Trump will present
less than 45 days before the election.
"Rushing this Senate nomination is simply an exercise of sheer political power," Biden said during the speech in which he also accused Trump and the Senate Majority Leader, Kentucky Republican Mitch McConnell, of trying to abuse of the Constitution.
"I don't think the people of this nation are going to tolerate it."
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden at the Constitution Center in Philadelphia;
on September 20, 2020.AP
[Trump urges Senate Republicans to vote for his replacement for Judge Ginsburg "as soon as possible": why her death further complicates an already chaotic election year]
The Democratic candidate noted that some people have already started voting by mail and said that the voice of the voters should be heard.
"I think the voters are going to make it clear that they will not tolerate this abuse of power," Biden said.
"Constitutional abuse."
The passing of Judge Ginsburg has brought an extraordinary twist to the elections, which had focused on the coronavirus pandemic that has already killed more than 200,000 Americans, the economic collapse that has left millions without jobs, and protests against injustice. Racial and police brutality in the main cities of the country.
Trump said on Saturday that he intends to appoint a woman in a few days to replace a former liberal icon in the country's highest court, and
McConnell said he would seek approval of the appointment expeditiously
.
Just hours before Biden's speech, a second Republican senator, Lisa Murkowski from Alaska, joined Senator Susan Collins of Maine in opposing Ginsburg's bid to fill the job before the next president is elected.
At least four Republicans are required to break ranks with their party for Trump's nomination to fail.
Attention immediately turned to Utah Senator Mitt Romney, who voted to convict Trump during the impeachment trial against him earlier this year, and Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, former chair of the Judiciary Committee. .
Biden acknowledged that those Republicans and others like them were his target audience when he warned that Trump's plan was an "abuse of power."
[Why does it matter so much that Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg has cancer despite remaining on the Supreme Court "at full speed"]
"Do your constitutional duty, your conscience," Biden said in Pennsylvania, one of the most contested states.
"Let the people speak. Cool the flames that have taken over our country."
Although Biden said that for now he will not present a list of his possible nominees if he wins the election, he hinted that it could be a black woman.
She explained that submitting a list
Biden said he would make his decision for the Supreme Court "based on what past presidents have done" and vowed to consult with both Democratic and Republican senators.
With information from The Associated Press and NBC News.
