Loeffler: Trump ‘has every right’ to fill Ginsburg vacancy before election

Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) said the Supreme Court vacancy left by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg should be filled this year.

“My prayers are with the Ginsburg family. Our country’s future is at stake &@realDonaldTrump has every right to pick a new justice before the election. I look forward to supporting a strict constructionist who will protect the right to life & safeguard our conservative values,” Loeffler tweeted. 

My prayers are with the Ginsburg family.

Our country’s future is at stake &@realDonaldTrump has every right to pick a new justice before the election. I look forward to supporting a strict constructionist who will protect the right to life & safeguard our conservative values.

— Kelly Loeffler (@KLoeffler) September 19, 2020

Loeffler was the first senator to say after Ginsburg’s death that she wants the vacancy filled ahead of what is expected to be an intense partisan fight over whether to confirm a replacement in an election year.

Sen. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) also said later that “This U.S. Senate should vote on President Trump’s next nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court.”

This U.S. Senate should vote on President Trump’s next nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court.

— Martha McSally (@SenMcSallyAZ) September 19, 2020

Republicans prevented former President Obama from filling a Supreme Court vacancy after Justice Antonin Scalia’s death in 2016, arguing that the spot should not be filled in an election year. 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) later on Friday night said he would move to fill the seat.

Prior to her death, Ginsburg, a reliable liberal vote on the court who was nominated by former President Clinton, indicated she wished to be replaced by a new president.

In a statement to her granddaughter that was obtained by NPR, Ginsburg said “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.”

Ginsburg’s death will likely make the Supreme Court a top issue in races up and down the ballot, with Democrats already saying that Ginsburg’s vacancy should not be filled in an election year. 

Loeffler, who was appointed to her seat, joined the Senate this year and is facing a tough election to fill the term of the Sen. Johnny Isakson (R), who resigned in late 2019 due to health concerns. The Georgia lawmaker has worked to win over skeptical Republicans by casting herself as a staunch ally of President Trump.