Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander announced that he will vote on the nominee selected by President Trump to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Alexander, a Republican, said that he is confident Democrats would be selecting a Supreme Court justice at the end of a presidential term if they were in the same position. He said no one should be shocked that Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has vowed to move forward with the confirmation process.
“No one should be surprised that a Republican Senate majority would vote on a Republican President’s Supreme Court nomination, even during a presidential election year. The Constitution gives senators the power to do it. The voters who elected them expect it,” Alexander said in a statement on Sunday.
“Going back to George Washington, the Senate has confirmed many nominees to the Supreme Court during a presidential election year. It has refused to confirm several when the President and Senate majority were of different parties. Senator McConnell is only doing what Democrat leaders have said they would do if the shoe were on the other foot,” he added.
My statement concerning President @realDonaldTrump’s intent to fill the U.S. Supreme Court vacancy following the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and @senatemajldr Mitch McConnell’s announcement that the Senate will vote on that nomination. pic.twitter.com/ktGGXYdSC8
— Sen. Lamar Alexander (@SenAlexander) September 20, 2020
Alexander has broken with Trump and the Republican Party on several issues in the past, and he was one of a handful of Republicans who was reported to have considered voting in favor of allowing more witnesses at Trump’s impeachment trial. Alexander ended up voting against allowing additional witnesses, and he later voted to acquit the president.
Alexander is retiring at the end of this term. He noted that he plans to give the “same standard” of consideration that he has given to other Supreme Court nominees throughout his career.
