Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away last Friday, leaving a vacant seat on the Supreme Court six weeks before the presidential election.
When this same situation cropped up after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in 2016, Republican Senators vowed not to fill his seat — saying that that filling a vacancy before the new president was chosen was silencing the voice of the American public.
Now, Republicans are saying they have the votes to confirm President Trump’s nominee, despite the nominee not having been formally announced. Despite Democrats crying hypocrisy, the GOP is warning that a contested election with only eight justices would provoke a constitutional crisis.
Sen. Chris Coons is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. How are the Democrats planning to respond to these moves ahead of the election? And what effect would a conservative-leaning Justice have on the Supreme Court?
Copyright 2020 WAMU 88.5
