Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., changed his position in short order on whether the Senate chamber should take up the nomination of the next pick to sit on the Supreme Court before the midterm elections.
Blumenthal first told MSNBC he felt the Senate should not "artificially delay" a debate and vote on who will replace the retiring Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy. Later Wednesday, however, he struck a different tone on Twitter:
Blumenthal also tweeted he agrees with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who said holding a vote in this election year "would be the absolute height of hypocrisy."
Newsmax reached out to Blumenthal's press office for clarification on his stance.
"The Tweets are our official position," his press contact Maria McElwain said.
McElwain did not respond to a follow up on why Blumenthal's changed his messaging.
During another appearance on MSNBC on Wednesday evening, Blumenthal said if President Donald Trump nominates a "right-wing ideologue," I believe there are colleagues on both sides of the aisle who will stand up to be counted . . . we will use tools to make the public aware of what's at stake here . . . we will use every potential tool we have."
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell did not allow the Senate to hold a vote on Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland in 2016 because it was an election year, which Democrats are now using to make their argument against voting on Kennedy's replacement this year. Garland's nomination expired after Trump took office, and Neil Gorsuch was eventually named to the bench.
McConnell already said Wednesday the Senate will debate President Donald Trump's nominee in the fall.
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