Senate

Grassley: Trump doesn’t change Supreme Court battle

by Jordain Carney - 05/10/16 3:29 PM ET

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) says Donald Trump’s ascent doesn’t put new pressure on Republicans to take up President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland.

“My approach isn’t about Garland; my approach is what’s been an understanding in the Senate for 30 years,” the Judiciary Committee chairman told reporters Tuesday. “It’s got nothing to do with Garland.”

{mosads}Senate Republicans have pledged to block Garland from getting a hearing or vote so that the next president can fill the vacant Supreme Court seat.

Asked if Trump’s “ascension” through the primary changed that strategy, Grassley said, “I think not, because the rise of Trump is very parallel to the rise of [President Ronald] Reagan … having this difference between the moderates and the conservatives.”

Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, said earlier this year that William Pryor Jr., a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, and Diane Sykes, a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, were the types of Supreme Court justices he would appoint if he were to win the White House.

Trump is also expected to release a list of roughly a dozen names he could pick from to fill a Supreme Court vacancy.

“I think when he says he wants to appoint those people to the Supreme Court, I think it would be assuring to [conservatives],” Grassley added.

Democrats have raced to link Trump to the Supreme Court fight, saying vulnerable GOP incumbents are leaving the seat open in hopes that the businessman will win the White House.

Grassley’s comments come as Senate Democrats hold a press conference Tuesday to formally receive Garland’s questionnaire, using the event to keep a spotlight on the Supreme Court fight.

Though more than a dozen GOP senators have met with Garland, only two — Sens. Mark Kirk (Ill.) and Susan Collins (Maine) — support giving him a hearing.

Tags Chuck Grassley Donald Trump Mark Kirk Merrick Garland Merrick Garland Supreme Court nomination Supreme Court of the United States Susan Collins