McConnell rules out helping Democrats replace Feinstein on Judiciary Committee
Ryan King
Video Embed
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) ruled out throwing Democrats a lifeline in their efforts to temporarily replace Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) on the Judiciary Committee.
McConnell hailed Feinstein as a “titanic figure” and a “stateswoman,” but insisted her absence hasn’t stopped the panel’s work and has instead forced Democrats to focus on judicial nominees that garner bipartisan support.
RO KHANNA DISMISSES CLAIMS HE IS PURSUING POLITICAL AGENDA IN CALLING FOR FEINSTEIN TO STEP DOWN
“Let’s be clear. Senate Republicans will not take part in sidelining a temporarily absent colleague off a committee just so Democrats can force through their very worst nominees,” McConnell declared from the Senate floor Tuesday.
https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1648338733480181768?s=20
Against the backdrop of progressive pressure, including from Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), for her to step aside, Feinstein asked Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to put a temporary replacement for her on the judiciary panel. He signaled his intent to do that this week.
“I’d like to do it sometime this week,” Schumer said at a press conference Monday. “I spoke to Sen. Feinstein just a few days ago. She believes she will return soon. She’s very hopeful of that, and so am I. … We think the Republicans should allow a temporary replacement until she returns.”
Feinstein, 89, has been out of the upper chamber since February after contracting shingles. Her absence has slowed down the Judiciary Committee’s approval of President Joe Biden’s nominees, specifically the ones that Republicans oppose.
McConnell emphasized that her absence “hasn’t ground the Judiciary Committee to a halt,” rather it has hampered approval of partisan nominees. He returned to the Senate this week after a fall at a hotel on March 8 left him with a concussion and a rib fracture.
To swap a senator with Feinstein, Schumer must amend the chamber’s organizing resolution. Given Republicans’ likely plans to block that maneuver, Democrats will likely need at least 10 GOP defections to break a filibuster.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Already a handful of Republican senators, such as Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), have signaled plans to scuttle efforts to replace Feinstein.
Democrats have been wildly successful at pushing through Biden’s judiciary nominations. At the two-year mark, Biden clinched 100 nominations, eclipsing former President Donald Trump‘s 85 and former President Barack Obama’s 67.