Cornyn: Supreme Court nominee in lame duck is ‘a terrible idea’
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) on Thursday dismissed the possibility of the Senate taking up President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee after the election.
“I know there has been some members of the press who asked … how about in a lame-duck session of the Congress,” he said. “I think that is a terrible idea.”
{mosads}Cornyn, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, said considering Merrick Garland after the November election “makes no sense” because it goes against the party’s position that the vacancy should be left to the next president.
“I, for one, believe we ought to be consistent, and that consistent principle is the American people deserve to be heard and their voices heeded on who makes that selection to something as important as filling this vacancy on the Supreme Court,” he said.
Cornyn’s comments come after a few Republican senators suggested Wednesday that they could take up Garland’s nomination at the end of the year, depending on who wins the election.
Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) told reporters “for those of us are concerned about the direction of the court, and wanting at least the more centrist figure, between him and somebody that President Clinton might nominate, I think the choice is clear, in a lame duck.”
But Cornyn suggested talk of the next president naming a more liberal justice than Garland, who is generally considered a moderate, is “speculation.”
“We don’t know,” he told reporters. “I mean, we could, we might not.”
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) quickly reiterated Wednesday that the Senate wouldn’t hold a hearing from Obama’s nominee despite pressure from Democrats and outside groups.
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