US election: Joe Biden looks to block Donald Trump on new Supreme Court justice
Joe Biden has called for help from Republicans over Donald Trump’s push to appoint a new Supreme Court justice.
Joe Biden has called on Republican Senators to search their “conscience” and block Donald Trump’s push to appoint a new Supreme Court justice before the election.
His call came as a second Republican Senator, Lisa Murkowski, joined fellow moderate Republican Susan Collins in saying she would not support a vote for a new justice before the November 3 poll.
The Democratic nominee Mr Biden called the President’s move to “jam” through a conservative replacement for the late liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg before the election “an abuse of power”, that would further divide the country.
“We need to de-escalate, not escalate. That’s why I appeal to those few Senate Republicans — the handful who really will decide what happens — please, follow your conscience,” Mr Biden said.
“Don’t vote to confirm anyone nominated under the circumstances President Trump and Senator McConnell have created. Don’t go there. Uphold your constitutional duty, your conscience. Let the people speak. Cool the flames that have been engulfing our country.
“The Senate should not act until after the American people select their next President.”
The President has vowed to nominate a woman this week for the vacant Supreme Court seat and wants to see her confirmed by the Senate before inauguration day in January.
“It will be a woman — a very talented, very brilliant woman,” Trump told supporters at a campaign rally in North Carolina. “We haven’t chosen yet, but we have numerous women on the list.”
A new conservative justice would tilt the conservative majority of the Supreme Court to 6-3, with profound consequences for decades on issues like gun rights, abortion laws, discrimination, criminal justice, immigration and religion.
Republicans have a 53-47 seat majority in the Senate, meaning that they can have no more than three defectors from their ranks if they are to confirm a new justice.
There is speculation that Republican Senator Mitt Romney – a Trump critic – may also side with Senators Collins and Murkowski.
But it is unclear if there would be a fourth defector from Republican ranks.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has vowed to hold a vote in the Senate on Justice Ginsburg’s replacement, saying the Senate had a mandate to support Mr Trump’s agenda.
Democrats say Republicans should oppose a new appointment before the election given that they blocked Barack Obama’s nominee in 2016 on the grounds that an election was looming.
Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Democrats would use every ‘arrow’ in their ‘quiver’ to prevent Mr Trump and Republicans confirming a new justice before the election.
‘We have arrows in our quiver that I’m not about to discuss right now,” she said.
Both Ms Pelosi and Mr Biden argued that any move to replace Ms Ginsburg before the election could threaten the healthcare of millions of Americans.
The court is scheduled to debate a legal challenge to the legality of the Affordable Care Act, dubbed Obamacare, a week after the election. The liberal Ms Ginsburg was a staunch defender of the ACA, raising the prospect that a more conservative court would strike down Mr Obama’s signature reform.
“In the middle of the worst global health crisis in living memory, Donald Trump is before the Supreme Court trying to strip health care coverage away from tens of millions of families, to strip away the peace of mind of more than 100 million Americans with pre-existing conditions,” Mr Biden said.
Moderate Republican Senator Murkowski of Alaska said she would not support a vote for a new justice before the election because it would be inconsistent with the stance that Republicans took in 2016.
“For weeks, I have stated that I would not support taking up a potential Supreme Court vacancy this close to the election. Sadly, what was then a hypothetical is now our reality, but my position has not changed,” Senator Murkowski said.
“I did not support taking up a nomination eight months before the 2016 election to fill the vacancy created by the passing of Justice Scalia. We are now even closer to the 2020 election — less than two months out — and I believe the same standard must apply,” she said.
Cameron Stewart is also US Contributor for Sky News Australia
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