Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell had a warning for President Joe Biden regarding a potential Supreme Court nominee in the wake of Justice Stephen Breyer‘s retirement announcement.
“Looking ahead — the American people elected a Senate that is evenly split at 50-50. To the degree that President Biden received a mandate, it was to govern from the middle, steward our institutions, and unite America,” McConnell said in a statement. “The President must not outsource this important decision to the radical left. The American people deserve a nominee with demonstrated reverence for the written text of our laws and our Constitution.”
Biden has long said he will nominate a black woman, and White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, confirmed earlier this week that he plans to make good on that promise.
Ketanji Brown Jackson and Leondra Kruger lead most media outlets’ shortlist for Breyer’s successor.
McConnell has a history with Supreme Court nominations and basing his actions on whether or not the nomination is in his party’s interest. As the Senate Majority Leader in 2016, he made sure that Obama nominee Merrick Garland did not get a confirmation hearing after Justice Antonin Scalia passed away. Then, he removed the filibuster for Supreme Court nominations to seat Justice Neil Gorsuch. Finally, McConnell expedited Justice Amy Coney Barrett‘s hearing after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away in the final months of Donald Trump‘s presidency.
“I’m going to give the president’s nominee, whoever that may be, a fair look and to not predict,” McConnell said. “We don’t even know who the nominee is.”
Regardless of McConnell’s support, a Biden nominee could be confirmed without any Republican votes. While the Senate is split 50-50, the Democrats hold the tiebreaker with Vice President Kamala Harris.
