Pelosi, U.S. House Speaker, Criticizes Trump and GOP for Forcing Ginsburg Successor Appointment
Biden: "If Elected, Trump's Supreme Court Nominee Must Be Withdrawn"
Two GOP Senators Break Ranks... Confirmation Impossible if Two More Defect
[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The U.S. political parties clashed over the nomination and confirmation vote for the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg's successor to the federal Supreme Court, even raising the possibility of impeachment against President Donald Trump. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden argued that even if President Trump nominates a successor, he should withdraw it if Biden wins the election.
On the 20th (local time), Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, appeared on ABC News and made it clear that she would block President Trump's nomination of a successor Supreme Court justice and the Senate confirmation vote. When asked about the possibility of impeachment of President Trump and Attorney General William Barr if the White House and the Republican-majority Senate push through the Supreme Court confirmation during the lame-duck period after this year's election, she replied, "We have options." She added, "We have arrows in our quiver that we are not discussing right now."
U.S. media interpreted Speaker Pelosi's remarks as demonstrating her willingness to go as far as impeachment if President Trump and the ruling party forcibly proceed with the nomination and confirmation of the successor justice.
Candidate Biden also expressed strong dissatisfaction with the Republicans' push to nominate Ginsburg's successor. Speaking at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia that day, Biden urged Republican senators to delay the confirmation. He referenced Ginsburg's dying wish that "I hope I am not replaced until a new president is inaugurated," emphasizing, "We must listen to her last hope." He also called on Republican senators to act according to their conscience, saying, "Forcing through Ginsburg's nomination is an abuse of power." Biden further asserted, "If I win the election, Trump must withdraw the nominee."
Amid the Democrats' offensive, warning signs have also appeared within the Republican Party regarding securing votes for the confirmation. Following Senator Susan Collins, Senator Lisa Murkowski also expressed the position that the confirmation of the successor nominee should be postponed until after the election.
If two more defections occur among the 53 Republican senators in the Senate, it will be difficult to complete the nomination process pushed by President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Some speculate that Senator Mitt Romney, who has clashed with President Trump, might also defect.
This conflict overlaps with the situation four years ago. In 2016, eight months before the presidential election, conservative Justice Antonin Scalia passed away, and then-President Barack Obama nominated progressive Merrick Garland as a Supreme Court justice candidate, but the confirmation was blocked by the Republican-controlled Senate. The person who led the delay of the confirmation ahead of the election was the current Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
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