We knew basically they were lying in 2016, when they said, ‘Oh, we can’t do this because it’s an election year.’ We knew they didn’t want to do it because it was President Obama.
If they show that they’re unwilling to respect precedent, rules and history, then they can’t feign surprise when others talk about using a statutory option that we have that’s fully constitutional in our availability. I don’t want to do that. But if they act in such a way, they may push it to an inevitability. So they need to be careful about that.
— Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), politely warning Senate Republicans that should they dare try to fill a possible Supreme Court vacancy in 2020, either before the election or in the lame duck session, then Democrats may consider adding additional seats to the high court whenever the party regains power. Talks about a potential SCOTUS vacancy have been reignited thanks to a recent announcement from Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 87, that she’s been undergoing treatment for a cancer reoccurrence.
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.