The incoming Senate should move "immediately" to add new justices to the Supreme Court if Republicans push to replace late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg during a lame-duck session after the November election and before a new Senate and president can be sworn in, according to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler.
"Filling the SCOTUS vacancy during a lame-duck session, after the American people have voted for new leadership, is undemocratic and a clear violation of the public trust in elected officials," the New York Democrat said on Twitter over the weekend, reports Business Insider. "Congress would have to act and expanding the court would be the right place to start."
Under Nadler's suggested scenario, even if Democrat nominee Joe Biden wins the presidency and Democrats take control of the Senate, a lame-duck Senate could still have November and December to push through a conservative nominee before Democrats take over in January.
If Republicans confirm a justice nominated by President Donald Trump, that will mean the court will have six justices appointed by Republican presidents and three by Democrats.
Meanwhile, if Mark Kelly wins his race in Arizona against GOP Sen. Martha McSally, he could be sworn in by late November, which could complicate Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's push to fill Ginsburg's seat. McSally and Kelly are vying in a special election for the seat that was held by late Sen. John McCain.
Ginsburg died Friday at the age of 87. She had been on the Supreme Court since 1993, when she was nominated by Presiden Bill Clinton.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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