LANSING, Mich. – Michigan’s two Senators are against a Supreme Court confirmation vote before Nov. 3.
As representatives gear up for a showdown over how to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Michigan’s Senior Sen. Debbie Stabenow has been critical of Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
“Mitch McConnell will do whatever is in the short-term political interests for him,” Stabenow said. “It’s not about what’s best for the American people. It’s about how do you keep power.”
McConnel said Ginsburg’s replacement would be pushed through the Senate as soon as possible, just hours after her death.
President Donald Trump is expecting to announce his nominee this week.
Stabenow said there are some Republican Senators that she expects will cross party lines -- like Maine Sen. Susan Collins and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski.
“We don’t know for sure, but I would assume the two of those colleagues that are still with us would be there,” Stabenow said. “We need two more and I don’t know who those will be.”
On Twitter, Trump said, “We were put in this position of power and importance to make decisions for the people who so proudly elected us, the most important of which has long been considered to be the selection of United States Supreme Court Justices. We have this obligation, without delay!”
It’s a sentiment Stabenow said wasn’t the case in 2016 when President Barack Obama moved to fill Justice Antonin Scalia’s vacant seat with Merrick Garland.
She said the fight to replace a legal giant should be larger than politics and power.
“I would hope in our country that this should be about fairness,” Stabenow said. “This should be about trying to make sure that we’re working together in a way where people can trust the decisions as being ones based on listening to Americans and giving everyone a chance to give their opinion and making reasoned decisions.”