Opinion | Don't Fill Ginsburg's Seat. Signed, the Republican Senators of 2016. - The New York Times

Ricardo Santos

This opinion piece was assembled using statements from Republican senators in 2016 as they were trying to prevent President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee from being confirmed. Senators argued the election was happening too soon (though it was almost eight months away) and that appointing a new justice would prevent Americans from having their say.

Now, since Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death last week, Republicans say they will hold hearings on a nomination quickly. They might even hold a vote before Election Day, which is just weeks away.

Below, Republicans from 2016 make their case against the Republicans of today. See the Democratic response here.

Hover over each line for more information.

Rarely does a Supreme Court vacancy occur in the final year of a presidential term. It makes the current presidential election all that more important, as not only are the next four years in play, but an entire generation of Americans will be impacted by the balance of the court and its rulings.

The American people are presented with an exceedingly rare opportunity to decide, in a very real and concrete way, the direction the court will take.

We believe the people should have this opportunity.

And the best way to ensure that happens is to have the Senate consider a nomination made by the next president. That’s the person who ought to be making this appointment.

This wouldn’t be unusual. It is common practice for the Senate to stop acting on lifetime appointments during the last year of a presidential term.

For 80 years it has been the practice that the Senate has not confirmed any nomination made during an election year, and we shouldn’t make an exception now.

In 1992, while serving as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and with a Republican in the White House, Joe Biden said his committee should “seriously consider not scheduling confirmation hearings” on any potential nominees until the campaign season was over.

Biden — and this is not something we’ve said very often — was absolutely correct. It’s a political cauldron to avoid. There should be no hearings. There should be no confirmation. Not during a presidential election year, with millions of votes having been cast in highly charged contests.

This election year is especially important. Our country is very split and we are in the midst of a highly contested presidential election that has brought people out in every corner of our country in record numbers to have their voices heard.

It is essential to the institution of the Senate and to the very health of our Republic to not launch our nation into a partisan, divisive confirmation battle during the very same time the American people are casting their ballots.

From what we have heard, people are excited about the opportunity to voice their opinion through the ballot box, whether they’re Democrats or Republicans. This year is a tremendous opportunity for our country to have a sincere and honest debate about the role of the Supreme Court in our constitutional system of government.

Why would we cut off the national debate about this next justice? Why would we squelch the voice of the people? Why would we deny the voters a chance to weigh in on the makeup of the Supreme Court?

No one disputes the president’s authority to nominate a successor, but as inconvenient as it may be for this president, the Constitution grants the Senate the power to provide, or as the case may be, withhold its consent.

In addition to the normally high level of scrutiny accorded to a Supreme Court nominee, this nominee would have to pass an additional level of scrutiny, which is the question of whether he or she ought to receive a lifetime appointment this year, when one could be made with a broad public stamp of approval less than a year later.

That is a standard no nominee is likely to be able to meet.

The Supreme Court seat doesn’t belong to any president or any political party.

The American people are perfectly capable of having their say on this issue, so let’s give them a voice. Let’s let the American people decide. The Senate will appropriately revisit the matter when it considers the qualifications of the nominee the next president nominates, whoever that might be. And if the decision is made that we have a Democratic president, that’s a decision we will live with.

We can’t think of a fairer or more democratic process.

Until then, our time should be spent addressing the many other legislative matters before us to strengthen our economy, create jobs and secure our nation.

The direction of the court is now in question, and the Senate has an essential role to play.

Our view is this: Give the people a voice.

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September 22, 2020 at 02:52AM
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Opinion | Don't Fill Ginsburg's Seat. Signed, the Republican Senators of 2016. - The New York Times
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