The GOP senator’s backing all but ensures that a Trump Supreme Court nominee will be confirmed this year
“The historical precedent of election year nominations is that the Senate generally does not confirm an opposing party’s nominee but does confirm a nominee of its own. The Constitution gives the President the power to nominate and the Senate the authority to provide advice and consent on Supreme Court nominees,” Romney said in a statement. “Accordingly, I intend to follow the Constitution and precedent in considering the President’s nominee. If the nominee reaches the Senate floor, I intend to vote based upon their qualifications.”
With momentum from their conference behind a quick vote, GOP leaders are now making clear they are pressing ahead to get the nomination confirmed before Election Day, which would amount to one of the quickest proceedings in modern times. And it comes despite Senate Republicans’ refusal to move on Barack Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland to a seat in 2016 when they said his choice — eight months before November — was too close to the elections.
Senate Majority Whip John Thune told CNN on Tuesday, “I think it would be a good idea to move forward.” He said the timing is not nailed down yet and Republican senators will discuss it at lunch Tuesday.
Currently, there are 53 GOP senators — meaning Republicans can only lose three votes to advance the nomination if Vice President Mike Pence stepped in to cast a tie-breaking vote.
It is unclear if there will be any further defections within GOP ranks.
Romney’s announcement could provide additional momentum for Senate Republicans to press for a quick confirmation vote once a nominee is announced. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he plans to make his announcement on Saturday at the White House.
Adding further momentum to an election-year Supreme Court confirmation, Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia also came out on Tuesday in favor of moving forward with the process.
“President Trump and the Republican Senate, both elected by the American people, should act to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by Justice Ginsburg’s passing,” the West Virginia Republican wrote in a statement on Tuesday.
The high-stakes election year battle over the addition of a new justice to the Supreme Court stands to have profound consequences, both for the court by pushing it in a more conservative direction for decades to come and for the ongoing fight for control of Congress and the White House.
Romney on Tuesday declined to discuss a hypothetical of a lame duck session vote on the vacant seat if Trump loses the election.
“I’m not going to look at all the hypotheticals that might occur,” he said. “But I’ve laid out what I intend to do and that would be… not dependent upon the timing.”
Pressed further, Romney replied, “I’ve indicated what I intend to do is to proceed with the consideration process and if a nominee actually reaches the floor, that I will vote and based upon the qualifications of that nominee,”
Asked his view of Amy Coney Barrett, he said, “I haven’t reviewed her judicial record to this point. I would look forward to doing so if she’s the nominee.”
This story has been updated with additional developments Tuesday.
CNN’s Ali Zaslav contributed to this report.
