Mitch McConnell says he would not confirm a SOCTUS nominee before the 2024 election.

 

Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell. Senate Photo.

Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell has said that if Republicans recapture the Senate in 2022, they will not consider approving any Supreme Court nominees until the 2024 election. USA Today. McConnell notes that it is not typical procedure for the Senate to confirm a Supreme Court nominee during an election year when the White House is controlled by another party. The statement comes as Democrats are demanding that 82 year old Justice Stephen Breyer step down so the party can chose a replacement. Ruth Bader Ginsburg died during the closing of President Donald Trump's first term allowing the Republicans to confirm Amy Coney Barrett. 

My Comment:

Just a quick post here mostly because I am rolling my eyes at the hypocrisy here. I know for the fact that if the GOP controlled the White House and the Democrats controlled the Senate there would be no chance of the Democrats confirming or even allowing a vote on a conservative justice. The people wringing their hands and whining about McConnell saying something obvious and true here is pretty ridiculous if you check twitter right now. 

Indeed, if the tables were turned I wouldn't even be upset by it, even though I hate the idea of another liberal on the court. It's just what happens when one party controls the Senate and another controls the White House. Under those circumstances it would be insane to confirm the candidate. 

Of course the whole scenario is dependent on a lot of things. First the Republicans would have to retake the Senate, which is likely but not a lock. Second a Supreme Court Justice would either have to die or retire, neither of which is that likely. Finally, Joe Biden and the Democrats would have to retain the White House, which is likely but no sure thing. My guess is that the issue is fairly unlikely to come up.

The comments were probably unwise though as it may spur Justice Stephen Breyer to step down. He's already under extreme pressure from some members of congress to do so and I think they do have a point. Ruth Bader Ginsburg refused to do so and then died in office, resulting in a solid 5-3-1 conservative split with Justice Roberts being the swing vote. Before it was a solid 4-4-1 where Democrats only had to pressure Roberts to get the outcome they wanted. If Breyer was a more strategic thinker I think he would be wise to step down to ensure that his seat doesn't get replaced by a likely GOP majority in 2024. 

Time will tell what happens. My guess is that nothing will happen. I don't see Breyer stepping down anytime soon and the most likely outcome is that the entire issue is a moot point. I don't foresee any changes to the Supreme Court until after the 2024 presidential election and even then nothing might change.