Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s seat on the powerful Judiciary Committee is now empty in the wake of her death and, if left unfilled, could slow down the confirmation of many of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees, Politico has reported.
Filling her seat requires unanimous consent from the chamber, so if any Republican were to object, Democrats would need at least 60 votes to appoint someone to replace Feinstein.
Some Republicans say that won’t happen.
"Democrats have a majority in the Senate. They won the election, so they are entitled to a majority on all the committees," said Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., a member of the Judiciary committee. "I don't know on what grounds you would say, Well, not on Judiciary, though."
"I don't think anyone's going to do that," said Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., told Business Insider. "Some Democrat's gonna fill that spot."
"I assume it will be handled the same way it has traditionally been handled," added Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas.
Feinstein, the long-serving Democrat U.S. senator from California, died at 90 on Friday. She was a gun control advocate who spearheaded the first federal assault weapons ban, and documented the CIA's torture of foreign terrorism suspects.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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