On the recordOctober 21, 2020
I want to associate myself with every remark that we heard from the distinguished Senator from Georgia. She has shown a strong voice and strong leadership in this, and, of course, she knows that 29 times, as she was trying to explain before being interrupted, that there have been vacancies in an election year of the Supreme Court. It happened. What we know, historically, if we talk about historical precedence, is if the President, asked by the Constitution--told by the Constitution to nominate, and if the Senate is of the same party as the President, generally, that person gets confirmed. But on the other hand, if the President who nominates is of a different party than the Senate--which is what happened in 2016 with Merrick Garland after the Republicans had won the Senate--that nominee, historically, is not confirmed. That is the history going through the U.S. Senate confirmations. The Constitution is clear. The President nominates, then advice and consent by the Senate, and we know what happens there, generally--same party, consent happens; different parties, divided government, and that is what happened in 2016. President Obama was reelected in 2014, but come 2016, the American people voted to put the Republican Party in the majority. So I actually have my dates wrong. It was 2012 that President Obama was reelected, and in 2014, the majority went to the Republican Party.…





