On Tuesday, Sen. Ted Cuz blocked a resolution in the U.S. Senate honoring the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
The bipartisan resolution to commemorate Ginsberg was amended by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to include her last dying wish, that her vacancy in the Supreme Court not be filled until a new president is in power.
“Unfortunately, the Democratic leader has put forth an amendment to turn that bipartisan resolution into a partisan resolution,” Cruz said, objecting to the resolution.
Cruz said that under the Constitution, members of the judiciary do not appoint their own successors.
The Texas senator went on to give a lengthy defense of Republicans moving to fill the vacant Supreme Court seat, framing Democrats as hypocrites for pushing for the nomination of Merrick Garland during an election year but not supporting President Trump’s incoming nominee.
Schumer’s reply to Cruz was much shorter: “Justice Ginsburg would easily see through the legal sophistry of the argument of the junior senator from Texas. To turn Justice Ginsburg’s dying words against her is so, so beneath the dignity of this body.”
Trump has yet to announce his nominee, but it looks increasingly likely the nominee will have the necessary backing from Republicans to be confirmed. Republicans need only a simple majority of 51 votes to confirm Trump’s incoming nominee. Democrats would need at least four Republican defections to successfully block the nomination.
Both Cruz and Cornyn have expressed support to fill the Supreme Court vacancy as soon as possible.
Photo: Samuel Corum/Getty Images
Fernando covers Texas politics and government at the Texas Signal. Before joining the Signal, Fernando spent two years at the Houston Chronicle and previously interned at Houston’s NPR station News 88.7. He is a graduate of the University of Houston, Jack J. Valenti School of Communication, and enjoys reading, highlighting things, and arguing on social media. You can follow him on Twitter at @fernramirez93 or email at fernando@texassignalarchive.com
