As Joe Biden makes a pick for a jurist to succeed retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, Republicans are warning against Biden choosing a “radical” pick.
What Happened: Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who successfully blocked former President Barack Obama’s nominee — Eric Garland — from confirmation, warned Biden of choosing an overly “ideological” choice to succeed the fairly moderate justice.
“The American people elected a Senate that is evenly split at 50-50,” McConnell said in a statement. “To the degree that President Biden received a mandate, it was to govern from the middle, steward our institutions and unite America. 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.”
Why it Matters: Who succeeds Breyer may be a far-left vote on the Republican-majority Court, adding a new layer of leftism to the bench. Especially who Biden picks, which he claimed would be a Black woman, will likely sit on the court for decades, such as Breyer who has sat on the Court for 28 years.
What People Are Saying: “The Senate will have a fair process that moves quickly so we can confirm President Biden’s nominee to fill Justice Breyer’s seat as soon as possible,” Mr. Schumer said in a statement.
“I look forward to a nominee who has such a compelling life story with such immensely impressive qualification that the country and all my colleagues will support her,” Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut and a member of the Judiciary Committee, said on Thursday. “We’re talking about a Black woman who will be making history, and we will be making history as well — the right kind of history.”
