Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) hit Republicans between the eyes with the truth during an interview with NBC’s Chuck Todd. Merkley said that the Gorsuch nomination should not be considered because Trump and his team are under investigation for potentially committing treason by colluding with Russia during the election.
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Sen. Merkley said, “Listen, I’m more concerned about the Supreme Court because if the theft of the Supreme Court seat succeeds for the first time in U.S. history, that means that all the rules are off. It’s pure partisanship from here forward. It fractures the integrity of the court. Every 5-4 decision that the stolen seat participates in will have a cloud over it. And there’s other reasons that we shouldn’t be considering this nomination at this moment. The president’s team is under investigation for potentially having conspired with the Russians to undermine the elections. That is potentially treasonous conduct. We need to clear that cloud before this debate continues.”
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Senate Democrats are fighting with everything that they have. Sen. Merkley brought up a great and obvious point. According to Republican logic, as stated by Mitch McConnell, presidents shouldn’t get to fill a vacant Supreme Court seat during a presidential election year, so why should a president get to fill a Supreme Court seat when he is under federal investigation for potentially committing treason? What is the difference? There is no Senate rule stating that a president’s nominee doesn’t get a vote in a presidential election year, so why can’t there be a standard that no president who is under active federal investigation can have a Supreme Court nominee confirmed?
Confirming the nominee of a potentially treasonous administration is more dangerous to the country than a presidential election year. Democrats are right to stand their ground on Gorsuch.
Mitch McConnell is one who broke the Senate when he refused to allow a vote on Obama nominee Merrick Garland. He is also the reason why Republicans will pay a heavy future price once Democrats win back Congress.
Most Senate Democrats truly believe that the Supreme Court seat was stolen, and they are going to make Republicans do something that they will definitely regret if they insist on confirming Neil Gorsuch.
Republicans may get their Supreme Court confirmation, but it is Democrats who will be the big winners if McConnell is foolish enough to go nuclear option and destroy the Senate.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
