McCain: A GOP Senate majority would be united against any Clinton Supreme Court nominee
U.S. Sen. John McCain. Drop of Light / Shutterstock.com
Updated: Republicans need to maintain a Senate majority so they can block Supreme Court nominees of Hillary Clinton, should she become the next president, U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said on Monday.
McCain told WPHT Philadelphia radio that Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania needs to be re-elected “so we can make sure there is not three places on the United States Supreme Court that will change this country for decades.” CNN had the story, followed by TPM and Think Progress.
The radio host asked how Republicans could block Supreme Court nominees given the confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court. McCain said some Republicans supported Sotomayor, but things would be different this time.
“I promise you that we will be united against any Supreme Court nominee that Hillary Clinton, if she were president, would put up,” McCain said. “I promise you. This is where we need the majority and Pat Toomey is probably as articulate and effective on the floor of the Senate as anyone I have encountered.”
McCain spokesperson Rachael Dean later clarified McCain’s interview statements in an email and phone call to the ABA Journal.
“Senator McCain believes you can only judge people by their record, and Hillary Clinton has a clear record of supporting liberal judicial nominees,” Dean said in the statement. “That being said, Senator McCain will, of course, thoroughly examine the record of any Supreme Court nominee put before the Senate and vote for or against that individual based on their qualifications as he has done throughout his career.”
The Senate has not yet acted on Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland, who was nominated on March 16, according to a White House confirmation tracker.
