Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty; Kevin Dietsch/Getty; Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty
PresidentJoe Bidenmade acampaign promisethat heintends to keepnow that Supreme Court JusticeStephen Breyerhas announced his retirement.
While fellow Democrats gear up in the Senate, where they hold a narrow majority, to move quickly through the confirmation process once Biden reveals his nominee, Republicans are less united when it comes to what they already know about her identity.
Here’s what leading Republicans have said about Biden’s vow to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court:
Sen. Mitch McConnell, minority leader
“The American people elected a Senate that is evenly split at 50-50,” the Kentucky lawmaker said shortly after the Breyer news broke. “To the degree that President Biden received a mandate, it was to govern from the middle, steward our institutions and unite America. The president must not outsource this important decision to the radical left. The American people deserve a nominee with demonstrated reverence for the written text of our laws and our Constitution.”
McConnell — who stonewalled PresidentBarack Obama’s ability to fill a court vacancy at the end of Obama’s term — alsotold reporters early onhe would give a Biden nominee a “fair look.”
And on Tuesday, the minority leader said, “You can anticipate the Senate, the Republican minority, treating the nominee with respect and going through the process in a serious, thoughtful way.”
Chuck Grassley.Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty
Sen. Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Judiciary Committee
“He can set any standards he wants. But I don’t want to look at this — not whether it’s man, woman, Black, white, whatever,” the Iowa Republican said. “I’m looking at people that will interpret the law, not make the law. That’s my job. And those sorts of things are more fundamental than anything else.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham, member of the Judiciary Committee
“Put me in the camp of making sure the court and other institutions look like America,” the South Carolina legislator said on CBS’Face the Nation. “You know, we make a real effort as Republicans to recruit women and people of color to make the party look more like America.”
Graham even has a hometown favorite, who is also considered a contender.
“I can’t think of a better person for President Biden to consider for the Supreme Court than Michelle Childs. She has wide support in our state, she’s considered to be a fair-minded, highly gifted jurist. She’s one of the most decent people I’ve ever met,” he said of Childs, a federal judge in South Carolina. “She’s highly qualified. She’s a good character, and we’ll see how she does if she’s nominated. But I cannot say anything bad about Michelle Childs. She is an awesome person.”
Sen. John Kennedy, member of the Judiciary Committee
“Here’s what I’m looking for in a Supreme Court justice: No. 1, I want a nominee who knows a law book from a J.Crew catalog,” the Louisiana senator said to reporters. “No. 2, I want a nominee who’s not going to try to rewrite the Constitution every other Thursday to advance a woke agenda. Those are my criteria.”
Susan Collins.Pete Marovich/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Sen. Susan Collins, potential swing vote
“The idea that race and gender should be the No. 1 and No. 2 criteria is not as it should be,“the moderate Republican from Maine said. “On the other hand, there are many qualified Black women for this post and given that Democrats, regrettably, have had some success in trying to paint Republicans as anti-Black, it may make it more difficult to reject a Black jurist.”
Sen. Ted Cruz, member of the Judiciary Committee
“The fact that he’s willing to make a promise at the outset, that it must be a Black woman, I gotta say that’s offensive,” the often-controversial Texan said on anepisode of his podcast. “Black women are what, 6% of the U.S. population? He’s saying to 94% of Americans, ‘I don’t give a damn about you, you are ineligible.'”
“It’s actually an insult to Black women,” Cruz continued. “If he came and said ‘I’m going to put the best jurist on the court’ and he looked at a number of people and he ended up nominating a Black woman, he could credibly say ‘Okay, I’m nominating the person who’s most qualified.’ He’s not even pretending to say that.”
“If you’re explicitly setting up a discriminatory quota,” he added, “it’s unfair to everybody else, and it undermines whoever ends up getting asked.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, potential swing vote
“I will look at any nominee who comes forward with very critical review and analysis. I think it’s well known that I take my time. I deliberate,” theAlaska senator said. “This is probably one of the more significant roles that I have as a sitting senator, is to provide my vote or abstain or withhold my vote for Supreme Court nominee. So I’m going to be looking to see who the president puts forward. I hope that we give this the due time and consideration without kind of rushing through quickly.”
Sen. Josh Hawley.Greg Nash/The Hill/Bloomberg via Getty
Sen. Josh Hawley, member of the Judiciary Committee
“I’m going to see if [the nominee is] a pro-Constitution judge. Actually believe in the Constitution and are willing to follow it. That ought to be the litmus test, not race, not religion, not gender, not anything else,” the Missouriantold Fox News. “But are you willing to follow the Constitution of the United States? Can I just say something about Joe Biden and his reported deal as to this nominee? It just shows, I think that Joe Biden is willing to do anything for power.”
“I don’t think I have voted yet … for any of [Biden’s] judicial nominees,” Hawley continued. “And the reason is so far, the people he has sent up to the Hill have been left-wing activists. They haven’t been pro-Constitution judges. So I hope this is a moment of truth for him. I hope he’ll change course and actually unite somebody who believes what all Americans believe in — the Constitution. We’ll see.”
Sen. John Cornyn, member of the Judiciary Committee
source: people.com
