Murkowski Comes Out Against SCOTUS Vote Before Election Day

Posted on by David Taintor

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) said Sunday that she opposed voting on a nominee to fill the seat of the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg before the November election.

“For weeks, I have stated that I would not support taking up a potential Supreme Court vacancy this close to the election,” Murkowski said in a statement. “Sadly, what was then a hypothetical is now our reality, but my position has not changed.”

Her Senate colleague Susan Collins (R-ME), who faces a tough reelection fight, has also come out against a confirmation vote before Election Day.

Hours after the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg Friday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) vowed a vote on President Trump’s nominee to fill the seat. Trump on Saturday said he would move “without delay” to announce a nominee, pledging that he would put forward a woman for the role.

On Sunday morning, before Murkowski had announced her position, Trump poked at her on Twitter. Responding a tweet announcing a local Murkowski event in Alaska, the President said “No thanks!”

Wired For the GOP

Posted on by Josh Marshall

I’ve told you many times that elite DC journalism is wired for the GOP. That continues to be the case, notwithstanding the political shifts in the country over the last twenty years. It continues to be the case even as it is driven by stakeholders who in many cases are not themselves Republicans or conservatives.

Here’s a tweet this morning from Axios, the preeminent insider DC publication.

Continue reading “Wired For the GOP” →

How Arizona’s Senate Race Could Impact SCOTUS Confirmation Fight

Posted on by David Taintor

PHOENIX (AP) — If Arizona Democrat Mark Kelly wins a seat in the U.S. Senate, he could take office as early as Nov. 30, shrinking the GOP’s Senate majority at a crucial moment and complicating the path to confirmation for President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee.

Kelly has maintained a consistent polling lead over Republican Sen. Martha McSally, who was appointed to the seat held by John McCain, who died in 2018.

Because the contest is a special election to finish McCain’s term, the winner could be sworn in as soon as the results are officially certified. Other winners in the November election won’t take office until January.

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Trump Pledges To Nominate A Woman Next Week To Fill Ginsburg Seat

Posted on by David Taintor

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is promising to put forth a female nominee in the coming week to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, pushing the Republican-controlled Senate to consider the pick without delay.

Taking the stage Saturday night at a North Carolina rally to chants of “Fill that seat,” the president said he would nominate his selection despite Democrats’ objections. And, after conducting what he joked was a “very scientific poll” of the Fayetteville crowd as to whether supporters wanted a man or a woman, he declared the choice would be “a very talented, very brilliant woman.”

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More on Collins

Posted on by Josh Marshall

Mainer TPM Reader AF follows up with some important detail and correction about my note on Susan Collins and her statement. I stand by the point I made last night. But it was an – I hope – uncharacteristic imprecision to call it a “promise”. As AF states, it’s definitely not. If Collins thinks it is in her interest I definitely think she will vote to confirm before the election. And I think it’s highly likely she’ll do so, win or lose, during the lame duck session after the election. But my same point holds, she’s judged it is strongly against her interest to vote at all before the election. It’s Democrats’ challenge to press her on this purported commitment and her history of breaking such commitments for the next six weeks. TPM Reader AF …

Susan Collins’ statement is punditry, without any promised actions.

Collins said a vote on a nomination should wait until after the election. She didn’t say a word about what she would do or not do.

Take a closer look at Collins’ statement. She says Trump has the right to make a nomination. She says she has “no objection to the Senate Judiciary Committee’s beginning the process of reviewing his nominee’s credentials.” After that she says there shouldn’t be a vote before the election.

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Collins’ Move

Posted on by Josh Marshall

Collins’ decision here on replacing Justice Ginsburg is very interesting. What’s notable here is her priorities: She wants to be reelected. And she sees – rightly – that a pre-election confirmation fight likely seals her fate.

Defeat is currently likely but not inevitable. Now she can spend the last six weeks of the campaign playing to what has always been her electoral strength: the principled moderate who isn’t beholden to her party. The alternative is absolutely lethal for her reelection prospects: closing the final six weeks of the campaign with an exercise that puts the lie to the whole premise of her candidacy.

If she thought it would help her I think she will go back on this promise in a second. But I’m not sure she will. Because this course seems clearly in line with preserving her seat.

Walkback For The Ages: Graham Ditches McConnell Rule He Promised To Apply Evenly

Posted on by Zoe Richards

Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has perhaps made the biggest flip-flop yet seen as the GOP races to reverse former comments condemning the confirmation of Supreme Court justices during an election year. 

Continue reading “Walkback For The Ages: Graham Ditches McConnell Rule He Promised To Apply Evenly” →

Susan Collins: Ginsburg Seat Should Be Filled By The President Elected Nov. 3

Posted on by David Kurtz

In a surprise stance, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) announced Saturday afternoon that whoever wins the presidential election Nov. 3 should be the one to fill the Supreme Court seat left vacant by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Continue reading “Susan Collins: Ginsburg Seat Should Be Filled By The President Elected Nov. 3” →

Envelope Containing Ricin Addressed To White House

Posted on by Zoe Richards

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal officials intercepted an envelope addressed to the White House that contained the poison ricin, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Saturday.

The letter was intercepted at a government facility that screens mail addressed to the White House and President Donald Trump, the official said. A preliminary investigation indicated it tested positive for ricin, a poison found naturally in castor beans, the official said.

The official was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Federal investigators were working to determine where the enveloped originated and who mailed it. The FBI, the Secret Service and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service were leading the investigation.

In a statement, the FBI said agents were working to investigate “a suspicious letter received at a U.S. government mail facility” and that there is “no known threat to public safety.”

A Navy veteran was arrested in 2018 and confessed to sending envelopes to Trump and members of his administration that contained the substance from which ricin is derived.

Authorities said the man, William Clyde Allen III, sent the envelopes with ground castor beans to the president, FBI Director Christopher Wray, along with then-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, then-CIA Director Gina Haspel, Adm. John Richardson, who at the time was the Navy’s top officer, and then-Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson. The letters were intercepted, and no one was hurt.

In 2014, a Mississippi man was sentenced to 25 years in prison after sending letters dusted with ricin to President Barack Obama and other officials.