JUST WOW

McConnell: I’ll Fill a Potential Supreme Court Vacancy During 2020

Senate majority leader blocked Judge Merrick Garland’s rise to the Supreme Court in early 2016.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he would work to have President Trump fill a Supreme Court vacancy if there happens to be one during the 2020 election, CNN reports. At a Kentucky luncheon Tuesday, McConnell reportedly said the Judicial Branch was the best way to have a “long-lasting positive impact” because “everything else changes.” His comments contrast with his decision to block President Barack Obama’s appointee, Judge Merrick Garland, from filling Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat in February 2016. A spokesman for McConnell told CNN the difference between the 2016 election and the upcoming 2020 one is that both the White House and the Senate are controlled by the GOP—rather than belonging to opposite parties like in 2016. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, stated late last year that he would be willing to leave a Supreme Court seat open until after the 2020 election if a vacancy opened up during the last year of Trump’s time in office.