Mitch McConnell says he'll fast-track a Trump Supreme Court nominee

(Image credit: Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

published 19 September 2020

After news of the passing of legendary Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) wasted no time making it clear where he stood on the timeline to confirm a successor. "President Trump's nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate," he said in a statement.

That position seemingly contradicts the stance McConnell took in February 2016 when Justice Antonin Scalia died, nearly nine months prior to that year's presidential election. That time around, the Republican leader blocked President Barack Obama's nominee, Merrick Garland, saying "the American people should have a say in the court's direction." President Trump won in November, and Neil Gorsuch was eventually confirmed to replace Scalia more than a year after he died.

In his Friday statement, McConnell drew a distinction between this year and 2016, saying this time is different because the president and the Senate majority are of the same party. He did not specify, however, whether the Senate vote on a Trump nominee would come prior to Election Day or during a potential lame duck session.