Lindsey Graham says he will vote for Ginsburg's replacement before next election
Published Date: 9/19/2020
Source: axios.com
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Saturday said he plans to support a vote on President Trump's nominee to fill the vacancy left by Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died on Friday, before the election.Why it matters: Graham in 2016 opposed confirming President Obama's Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland, because it was an election year. The senator further said at the 2018 Atlantic Festival: "If an opening comes in the last year of President Trump's term, and the primary process has started, we'll wait until the next election."Graham contradicted his 2016 statement in a series of Saturday tweets, citing Democrats' treatment of Justice Brett Kavanaugh and former Sen. Harry Reid changing circuit-court-judge nominating rules as justifications."In light of these two events, I will support President @realDonaldTrump in any effort to move forward regarding the recent vacancy created by the passing of Justice Ginsburg," Graham said. There are just 45 days left until the 2020 presidential election.Between the lines: Graham, who is the Senate Judiciary Committee chair, is facing an increasingly competitive reelection against Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison. A Quinnipiac poll released this week showed the two as tied.