Grassley Won't Stand In the Way Of Lame Duck Hearings For Garland

Chuck Grassley, Senator from Iowa and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, indicated in a speech earlier this week that he may consider holding hearings for Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland during the lame duck session of Congress after the election, but only if he was forced to. In fact, he specifically did not endorse the idea of holding lame duck hearings, saying, “If we have the election, and there was a majority of the Senate changed their mind about doing it in the lame duck, as opposed to January 20, I don’t feel that I could stand in the way of that. But I don’t think I can promote that idea.” I’m so glad Mr. Grassley won’t stand in the way. Immediately, Mitch McConnell killed the idea, releasing a statement that read, “the next President will make this nomination”. But perhaps they should read the US Constitution:

[The President] shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law: but the Congress may by law vest the appointment of such inferior officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments.

I can agree with legal scholars that the Senate is certainly within their right to vote down a nominee, either in committee or in the full Senate, and even hold up a nomination by using the filibuster. But both of those actually fulfill their role of advice and consent – they actually involve a real vote on the nominee. Simply refusing to hold hearings at all and not allowing any kind of vote at all is an abrogation of their constitutional duty. It would be wrong for Democrats and it is wrong for Republicans. All I ask is that they do their job and bring this to a vote.