Selective: 4 GOP Senators Won't Support Early Supreme Court Vote
The Claim
Four GOP senators said they will not support a Supreme Court nomination before January.
NOTE: On September 22, 2020, following Mitt Romney's statement of support for the early vote, we issued a correction to this article. The new rating is fake.
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Emerging story
In September 2020, a Facebook post claimed that four GOP senators, Lisa Murkowski, Mitt Romney, Susan Collins, and Chuck Grassley, had committed to not voting on a new Supreme Court nomination to fill Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat until January, following the 2020 U.S. Presidential election.
The claim soon spread on social media.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar’s investigation shows that the claim is selective. The Misbar team found that of the four senators who supposedly made this claim, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, stated she would not vote to confirm a nominee to the supreme court before January if a vacancy were presented. However, this claim was made before Justice Ginsburg’s death was confirmed.
Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, the only GOP senator to vote in favor of impeaching Trump, has not yet made such a statement regarding the Supreme Court vacancy. The rumor that he supports not voting for a nomination was allegedly denied by a staffer for Romney.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, reportedly told a New York Times writer that she was opposed to seating a Supreme Court justice in October. She later confirmed her stance on Twitter on Saturday.
In 2018, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told Fox News that he would not support a nomination in the last year of Trump's term, saying, "If I'm chairman they won't take it up... Because I pledged that in 2016. That's a decision I made a long time ago." However, he also said that the current chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee would have to decide if they wanted to hold a confirmation hearing before the January presidential inauguration.
Of the four GOP senators rumored to not vote on filling the Supreme Court nomination to replace the seat left vacant due to the recent passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, only three have made such public statements, with Mitt Romney’s office not confirming the senator’s stance. As such, we label the claim that four GOP senators have said they will not support a Supreme Court nomination vote before the January presidential inauguration as selective.
