There was speculation that Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) would split with his party and reject a confirmation vote for President Trump's Supreme Court nominee before the November election, but several analysts aren't surprised that he ended up supporting moving forward. That's because Romney's preference for a conservative-leaning high court takes precedent over his "disdain" for Trump, The New York Times' Carl Hulse argues.
Politico's Tim Alberta concurred, noting that Romney likely still expects and even hopes Trump will lose to his Democratic challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden, in November. Alberta also suspects Romney senses the Democrats will "dominate" Congress for some time, leaving the Supreme Court as the only branch of government to maintain conservative power.
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