Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) knocked Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday, accusing him of a “double standard” for claiming Democrats are trying to delay a Supreme Court nomination.
{mosads}Schumer argued that McConnell’s criticism was “absurd” and “filled with double standards” after Republicans held up former President Obama’s Supreme Court nomination for months in 2016.
“Democrats are causing delay? Coming from the same man who delayed the nomination of … Merrick Garland for over 300 days without a shrug of his shoulders? Give me a break,” Schumer said, referencing Obama’s nominee for the high court.
McConnell knocked Democrats, predicting they would move the “goal posts” in an effort to delay Kavanaugh.
But Schumer fired back that McConnell, who he characterized as the “master of delay,” should blame members of his own party that called for the FBI investigation.
“We can’t set the calendar. These things have been delayed because people on his side of the aisle who had sincere concerns about having a fair process,” he said.
Republicans have defended their decision to refuse to give Garland a hearing or a vote, arguing that Supreme Court nominations shouldn’t be voted on during an election year. Democrats have accused Republicans of a double standard and of trying to rush through Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination during a midterm election year.
Republicans and President Trump last week gave the FBI one week to investigate sexual misconduct allegations against Kavanaugh. They have a Friday deadline to wrap up their investigation.