New justice:
Republicans fall in line behind Trump push to quickly confirm replacement.
WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans swiftly fell in line Tuesday behind President Trump’s rush to fill the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Supreme Court seat, all but ensuring a divisive confirmation vote within weeks despite Democrats’ objections it’s too close to the Nov. 3 election.
Trump, who has yet to announce his nominee, said that will come Saturday and he’s confident his choice will be confirmed.
Trump and conservatives are insisting on a vote before Election Day, and Republicans control the Senate, 5347, with a simple majority needed for confirmation. The one remaining possible Republican holdout, Mitt Romney of Utah, said Tuesday he supports taking a vote.
Still, with early presidential voting already under way in several states, all sides are girding for a wrenching Senate battle over health care, abortion access and other big cases before the court and sure to further split the torn nation.
Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have launched one of the quickest confirmation efforts in recent times. No court nominee in U.S. history has been considered so close to a presidential election.
During a private lunch meeting Tuesday at Senate GOP campaign headquarters, several Republican senators spoke up in favor of voting before the election. None advocated a delay.
McConnell made no scheduling announcements. But hearings could start as soon as Oct. 12 by the Senate Judiciary Committee, with a vote in the full Senate by Oct. 29, according to a GOP aide granted anonymity to discuss deliberations.
As tributes poured in for Ginsburg , the Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, said that “we should honor her dying wish,” which was that her seat not be filled until the man who wins the presidential election is installed in January. But that no longer seemed an option.