Romney Agrees To Back Trump On Supreme Court Pick; McConnell Now Ha...

Utah Senator Mitt Romney (R) announced on Tuesday that he would support a floor vote on President Trump's Supreme Court pick - giving Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) a 53-seat majority and the votes needed to move forward in replacing the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, according to Politico.

"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," Romney said in a statement.

Romney said he was merely following the law in making his decision rather than taking a position based on the recent blockade of President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland, during the 2016 election. Romney said 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.”

He added that his decision is "not the result of a subjective test of 'fairness' which, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. It is based on the immutable fairness of following the law, which in this case is the Constitution and precedent." -Politico

My statement regarding the current Supreme Court vacancy: pic.twitter.com/6YO0dPWWXc

— Senator Mitt Romney (@SenatorRomney) September 22, 2020

Another potential swing vote who recently committed to Trump's Supreme Court nominee is Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO), while Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME) say they won't support a nominee this close to the election.

The senator who thinks the president should have been removed from office for abuse of power wants to help him confirm a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court https://t.co/PTbV6d8Ov1

— Chris Megerian (@ChrisMegerian) September 22, 2020

Not long ago, Joe Biden said that “the American people deserve a fully-staffed court of nine.”

We agree.

Fill the seat! pic.twitter.com/K8GpnAMEly

— Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) September 21, 2020