Republicans in the Senate are gearing up to deal with the upcoming hearings on Biden's first Supreme Court justice nomination, with the party seemingly undecided over whether they are going to fight an uphill battle against the Democrats or let the candidate pass, according to a report by The Hill.
The GOP has few options to oppose the nominee, whose name is yet to be revealed by Biden: the appointment requires a simple majority, which the Republicans do not have. Members of the party could stage a walkout ahead of voting on the appointment, thwarting the Senate quorum; however, their opposition might energise Democratic voters ahead of the 2022 midterms, Democrats asked by The Hill believe.
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27 January 2022, 21:31 GMT
The head of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has already met with top Republican Chuck Grassley on the Judiciary Committee reviewing the Supreme Court candidates. However, neither produced any statements indicating the GOP plans to oppose the nomination.
"Look, I’m going to give the president’s nominee—whoever that may be—a fair look. And not predict today, when we don’t even know who the nominee is, how I might vote", McConnell said.
At the same time, another GOP member of the Judiciary Committee, Josh Hawley, warned that he and other party members might put up a fight in the Senate if Biden comes up with some kind of “left wing activist” candidate for the post.
"I believe it to be typical of this administration, which has been the most race-obsessed, gender-obsessed in terms of trying to deconstruct genders, actually. I mean, this is a hard woke left administration", Hawley said.
At the same time, some Republicans told The Hill that they are urging their GOP colleague to focus on fighting the Democrats' legislative initiatives and ignore Biden's Supreme Court nominee, whom POTUS promised to be the first black woman in the top judicial body
Chance for Formal Bipartisan Appointment?
As the Republicans are still trying to figure out their course of action on the matter, Democrats are reportedly also hoping to spin the appointment of a replacement for Justice Stephen G. Breyer to their advantage in the 2022 midterms. The Democrats are hoping to win over at least a few Republicans to support the nomination in order to call it a bipartisan win.
Over the past half a year, the party could not win over GOP votes in the Senate on any major legislation, with the Republicans often accusing their political opponents of refusing to negotiate a compromise acceptable for both parties.
In the case of the Supreme Court pick, several GOP Senators have expressed readiness to give Biden's nominee an unbiased look. Among them are the three Republican senators who have voted the most in favour of Biden's previous judicial picks - Susan Collins, Lindsey Graham, and Lisa Murkowski.
"I will look at any nominee who comes forward with very critical review and analysis. I think it's well known that I take my time. I deliberate", Murkowski said of her plans.
Another Republican, Senator John Cornyn, promised that Biden's nominee "will be treated fairly and with the dignity". His colleague, Thom Tillis echoed the sentiment, adding that not all of Trump's Supreme Court picks enjoyed that "basic courtesy".
Brian Fallon, the executive director of Demand Justice, told The Hill that overall, there is a sense that the Democrats will be able to confirm Biden's Supreme Court candidate without much opposition and possibly some support from the GOP.
"There’s a decent chance of getting Republican votes for this pick. […] I don’t know how much Republicans will be on a war footing on this one", Fallon said.
Biden is yet to unveil the name of his candidate, but intends to do so by the end of next month. He earlier confirmed planning to go through with his electoral promise of introducing a black female justice to the Supreme Court.
However, such a narrow filter for candidates was apparently not in high demand among the public, according to a recent poll by ABC News/Ipsos. It suggested that as many as 76% of Americans disliked Biden's approach, while only 23% favoured it. The opinion didn't change much among non-White respondents, as only 28% of them believed that POTUS should only review black female candidates for the job.