by Andrew Trunsky
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski has said she would not vote to replace a Supreme Court justice until after the inauguration.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died Friday evening at her home at the age of 87. Murkowski, a pro-choice moderate from Alaska, is often a swing vote in the Senate.
“When Republicans held off Merrick Garland because nine months prior to the election was too close, we needed to let the people decide,” Murkowski said in August, according to The Hill. “And I agreed to do that. If we say now that months prior to the election is OK when nine months is not, that is a double standard and I don’t believe we should do it.”
Last month, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said she would not support confirming a new Supreme Court justice before the election or in a lame-duck session.
She said that would be a "double standard" after what happened in 2016.https://t.co/BJqcDjP2oG pic.twitter.com/VOW1wSqsyR
— Mike Baker (@ByMikeBaker) September 19, 2020
Murkowski also commented on the issue Friday afternoon only hours before Ginsburg’s death, echoing her previous stance.
“Fair is fair,” she said.
NEW: Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) announces she will NOT vote to replace RBG on SCOTUS until after Election Day. “Fair is fair,” she says.
— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) September 18, 2020
Murkowski’s statements echo that of Maine Sen. Susan Collins, a fellow moderate and the only other pro-choice Republican in the Senate.
News: @SenatorCollins told me earlier this month in Maine that she would not seat a Supreme Court justice in October.
“I think that’s too close, I really do,” she said.
She said she’d also oppose seating a justice in the lame duck if there’s a change in presidents.
— Jonathan Martin (@jmartNYT) September 19, 2020
“I think that’s too close, I really do,” Collins said when asked whether she would vote to confirm a Supreme Court justice in October. Collins also said that she would oppose seating a justice in the lame duck session of Congress if President Donald Trump loses the election in November.
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Andrew Trusnky is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation.
