Second GOP senator a ‘no’ to filling court seat before election

WASHINGTON — A second Republican senator came out in opposition to filling a vacant Supreme Court seat before the Nov. 3 election while Speaker Nancy Pelosi asserted without details that the Democratic-led House has “options” for stalling or preventing President Donald Trump from quickly installing a successor to the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said in a statement that “for weeks, I have stated that I would not support taking up” a potential nomination as the presidential election neared. “Sadly, what was then a hypothetical is now our reality, but my position has not changed.”

Murkowski joins Maine. Sen. Susan Collins, who said replacing Ginsburg should be the decision of the election winner — Trump or Democrat Joe Biden. Republicans hold a 53-47 edge in the Senate. If there were a 50-50 tie, it could be broken by Vice President Mike Pence.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has pledged to move forward but hasn't set a timetable.

Focus is growing on Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, who has broken with Trump before. There is another potential wrinkle: Because the Arizona Senate race is a special election, that seat could be filled as early as Nov. 30, which would narrow the window for McConnell if Democrat Mark Kelly wins.

The House has no formal say in presidential nominations, a role the Constitution assigns to the Senate, and Pelosi, D-Calif., refused in a television interview to detail the “arrows in our quiver,” even when asked about trying to impeach Trump for a second time.

Ginsburg's death Friday at age 87 has injected new ferocity into the election-year battle for the presidency and control of Congress, in a nation already struggling with the coronavirus pandemic, economic collapse and racial tension. The talk on the Sunday news shows gave a glimpse of the power tug over the timing of any vote to fill Ginsberg's seat 44 days from the election.

Trump says he is obligated to act as soon as possible and had at least two women in mind for the seat. Most Republicans concurred on the need for speed and one named a practical reason: The nineseat member, argued Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, must be full if called upon to decide the outcome of a disputed presidential election.

Democrats urged the GOP Senate majority to heed its own advice against filling the court's lifetime slots so close to elections.

“The people pick the president. The president picks the justice,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.