President Donald Trump is wasting no time in his campaign to win over moderate senators to vote for his ultimate Supreme Court pick.
On Thursday night, he rounded up the lawmakers most likely to swing in a private meeting, per Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
Tonight @POTUS met w/ Senators Grassley, Collins, Murkowski, Manchin, Donnelly, and Heitkamp to discuss the Supreme Court vacancy. @POTUS team also talked w/ more than a dozen other Senators today as part of ongoing outreach to get views and advice from both sides of the aisle.
— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) June 29, 2018
Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), and Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) are all defending seats in states that Trump won in 2016, forcing them into a careful tightrope walk to appease Independents and moderate Republicans without alienating their liberal base. All three of them voted to confirm Justice Neil Gorsuch.
Per CBS News, Donnelly said that they had a “good conversation” with Trump, while Manchin called the meeting “productive.”
Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) are already feeling pressure from both sides about their vote, and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has said that he’s counting on Trump choosing someone with “credentials” and “intellect.”
The red Dems will vote to confirm. Then they will lose anyway.
It’s Kabuki time baby! Let’s pretend Collins won’t fold for a few weeks. It makes for good panel discussions on CNN. Will she? Won’t she? What’s a girl to do?!?!
The nominee 's judicial philosophy can be as reliable as a dice roll. Think: Brennan on civil rights, Souter on just about everything, and Roberts on ACA.
I am waiting for the introduction of the stalking horse candidate. There will be plenty of opportunities for swinging Senators to parse their words with breathless commentary over judicial temperament.
Donnelly has enough spine and intestinal fortitude to make a Republican. Almost.
His opponent is even worse, so I guess I’ll have to send him another donation.
I remember when Indiana had 2 Democratic Senators. Yeah, I’m old.