Politicians like to stay in power. They're not going to blindly run off a cliff if they see other, better, options.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/21/senate-republicans-supreme-court-vote-419698
I suspect that they're going to rush some hearings but won't have a floor vote before the election day. There really isn't enough time, even as Moscow Mitch tries to rush it. (Like Jane Mayer reported, I too believe that he's more interested in maintaining power than having a very possibly temporary SCOTUS win, so he'll tread more carefully than he wants you to believe.)
What happens after November 3 is anyone's guess. It may very well depend on the size of the blue wave.
But even if they do ram someone onto the court this year, it's not over. Progress is slow and comes in fits and starts. Biden would have every reason to push for enlarging the SCOTUS and for other reforms (an Amendment for 18 year terms sounds like a good idea, along with some other things) and could bring much of the country with him.
We'll see.
Cheers,
Scott.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/21/senate-republicans-supreme-court-vote-419698
Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) oppose moving forward with a nomination, meaning that McConnell can afford to lose only one more Republican in the 53-47 GOP-majority Senate. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) has yet to reveal his position, as Democrats remain united that Ginsburg’s replacement should not be considered until next year.
“We’ll find out at lunch tomorrow what the plan is, but I think what’s in play here is to have one set of rules that we consistently follow,” Collins, who faced backlash for backing Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation in 2018 and who is trailing in polls in Maine, said on Monday. “In this case, we’re talking about 40 days before the election. So I believe we should wait and see who the winner of the election is.”
An average Supreme Court confirmation process takes more than two months, and the election is 43 days away. And even if the full Senate or just the Judiciary Committee remained in session through October, it would deprive some of McConnell’s vulnerable incumbents of the opportunity to campaign in their home states in the final stretch.
I suspect that they're going to rush some hearings but won't have a floor vote before the election day. There really isn't enough time, even as Moscow Mitch tries to rush it. (Like Jane Mayer reported, I too believe that he's more interested in maintaining power than having a very possibly temporary SCOTUS win, so he'll tread more carefully than he wants you to believe.)
What happens after November 3 is anyone's guess. It may very well depend on the size of the blue wave.
But even if they do ram someone onto the court this year, it's not over. Progress is slow and comes in fits and starts. Biden would have every reason to push for enlarging the SCOTUS and for other reforms (an Amendment for 18 year terms sounds like a good idea, along with some other things) and could bring much of the country with him.
We'll see.
Cheers,
Scott.