GOP’s Murkowski Won’t Support Filling SCOTUS Seat Before 2020 Election

The health of Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been followed by Democrats and Republicans alike. The 87 year-old justice has had a number of health scares over the last year. She says, however, that she is in no rush for retirement and her health scares have not been serious.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said that he would jump at the chance to replace her while Republicans hold the majority. There is one GOP Senator, however, that says she wouldn’t support this maneuver. Lisa Murkwoski said filling a seat before the election would be a double standard.

According to The Hill’s Alex Bolton, “Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) says it would be a ‘double standard’ to fill a Supreme Court vacancy before 2021 & ‘would not support it.'”

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) says it would be a “double standard” to fill a Supreme Court vacancy before 2021 & “would not support it.”

— Alex Bolton (@alexanderbolton) August 3, 2020

The reason it would be seen by the Alaskan lawmaker as a double standard is due to McConnell’s actions in 2016. Following the death of Antonin Scalia, Barack Obama appointed Merrick Garland to his SCOTUS seat. McConnell refused to hold a vote on the matter.

Murkowski has long been, arguably, the Republican most likely to stand up to Donald Trump. The Senator voted against Donald Trump’s attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act in 2017. In 2018, she was the lone GOP Senator to vote against the confirmation of Supreme Court candidate Brett Kavanaugh.

She said at the time, “I believe Brett Kavanaugh’s a good man. It just may be that in my view he’s not the right man for the court at this time.”