OpsLens

Trump takes swipe at Murkowski after she opposes Senate taking up SCOTUS confirmation

President Trump hit back at Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski on Twitter Sunday after she became the second Republican senator to oppose a swift move to fill the vacant Supreme Court seat following the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Trump eyed a tweet earlier Sunday morning from the Alaska Chamber which promoted an event slated for next week featuring Murkowski. Trump retweeted the post alongside the comment: “No thanks!”

MURKOWSKI ‘WOULD NOT SUPPORT’ SENATE TAKING UP POTENTIAL SUPREME COURT NOMINEE AMID GINSBURG VACANCY

Murkowski followed the lead of Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who came out in opposition of filling the vacant Supreme Court seat before the Nov. 3 election just after Ginsburg’s passing.

In a statement, Murkowski said “for weeks, I have stated that I would not support taking up” a potential nomination as the presidential election neared. “Sadly, what was then a hypothetical is now our reality, but my position has not changed.”

She added: “I did not support taking up a nomination eight months before the 2016 election to fill the vacancy created by the passing of Justice Scalia.”

Now, “we are now even closer to the 2020 election — less than two months out — and I believe the same standard must apply,” she said.

TRUMP URGES REPUBLICANS TO FILL GINSBURG VACANCY ‘WITHOUT DELAY’

Murkowski and Collins have said replacing Ginsburg should be the decision of the election winner — Trump or Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

Murkowski’s comments come just after Ginsburg– deemed a towering women’s rights champion who became the court’s second female justice — passed away Friday from complications surrounding metastatic pancreatic cancer at 87 years old. During her final years on the bench, Ginsburg was seen as the unquestioned leader of the court’s liberal wing.

Trump called Ginsburg a “titan of the law” who “inspired all Americans.” After her passing, however, he began pushing the Republican-controlled Senate to consider the pick without delay.

Despite opposition from Democrats, Trump says he is obligated to act as soon as possible and had at least two women in mind to fill the seat.

Fox News’ Brooke Singman and the Associated Press contributed to this report. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Source link