National GOP Stays Out Of Supreme Court Battle Over Same-Sex Marriage

WASHINGTON — In 2013, House Republicans shelled out more than $2 million in taxpayer dollars to try and save a centerpiece of the ill-fated Defense of Marriage Act from the Supreme Court.

Two years later, with the stakes higher as the Supreme Court considers whether to enshrine same-sex marriage as a constitutional right for all Americans, Republicans are notably silent and staying as far away from the upcoming case as possible.

“I don’t expect that we’re going to weigh in on this,” Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) told reporters last week. “The Court will make its decision, and that’s why they’re there — to be the highest court in the land.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) also didn’t express any interest in jumping into the battle, two years after he and nine GOP senators signed a friend-of-the-court brief asking the Court to uphold DOMA.

“The Court is going to decide this issue, apparently,” McConnell told reporters when asked Tuesday at his weekly Capitol press conference. “Whether or not they leave it to the states, we don’t know yet. But we’re looking forward to reading what they have to say.”

The revelation — that GOP leaders won’t stand with the states in asking the Court to protect their right to outlaw same-sex marriage — reflects a notable shift by a party whose core base strenuously opposes gay marriage.

It is not a coincidence that it comes at a time when US public opinion across ideological and party lines is moving in favor of gay rights. Since mid-late 2012, Gallup tracking polls have found that a majority of Americans believe same-sex marriage should be legal.

The Republican National Committee also hasn’t weighed in since the Supreme Court agreed last month to take the case, which is expected to be decided by the end of June. A RNC spokesperson didn’t respond to requests for comment.

RNC chairman Reince Priebus speaks to reporters as he leaves the Senate Republicans’ policy lunch on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2015. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call) (CQ Roll Call via AP Images)

The truth is that many Republican strategists are privately hoping the Court legalizes gay marriage. It would remove the issue from the political arena and save Republicans from having to choose between between their evangelical base and a majority of voters in the 2016 election.

But it’s perilous to say that publicly, so numerous Republicans are staying mum on what the Supreme Court should do in the pending case.

“I’m not gonna get into that,” Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA) told TPM.

Asked in huddle with reporters how the Court should rule, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) walked away and didn’t address the question. Her Northeastern state was one of the first to legalize same-sex marriage.

“That’s up to the Supreme Court,” Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) told TPM. “I’m not qualified to make that judgment.”

Some Republicans are willing to stand against national same-sex marriage, though. Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND), whose sparsely-populated red state outlaws gay marriage, gave a flat “yes” when asked if the Court should rule for the right of states to make that decision. But he wouldn’t commit to weighing in formally with a friend-of-the-court brief.

“You know, we’ll have to see,” he told TPM. “I think we’ll have that discussion with my colleagues here and decide what the best approach is.”

Meanwhile, national Democrats are supporting a constitutional right for gay couples to marry. The Obama administration intends to file a brief asking the Supreme Court to declare that the right to same-sex marriage is protected by the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said shortly after the justices accepted the case.