10/15/20
Sheldon Whitehouse issued a blunt warning to his Republican colleagues on Thursday, as he watched the Judiciary Committee ready Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court nomination for the Senate floor. There will not be two sets of rules for Democratic and Republican Senate majorities, Whitehouse vowed; the GOP decision to block President Barack Obama’s nominee in 2016 and approve President Donald Trump’s just days before the 2020 election will have consequences. “Don’t think when you have established the rule of ‘because we can,’ that should the shoe be on the other foot, you will have any credibility to come to us and say: ‘yeah, I know you can do that, but you shouldn’t,’” Whitehouse said. “Your credibility to make that argument at any time in the future will die in this room and on that Senate floor if you continue.” The Rhode Island Democrat succinctly stated what’s on everyone’s mind: Once Barrett is confirmed, all bets are off about how the Senate — and the Supreme Court — might look a few months from now if Democrats sweep in November. Whitehouse’s remarks were pointed enough to serve as a warning for Republicans but vague enough to avoid creating the “court-packing” headline that the GOP would want coming out of Barrett’s hearing. In an interview afterward, Whitehouse called his statement “more or less a preview of coming attractions and work to be done, than it was a threat.”
After repeated questioning, Democratic presidential nominee Biden eventually conceded he’s “not a fan” of adding seats to the high court. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) hasn’t promised retaliation, but he’s also declined to rule out anything, be it changing the Supreme Court or killing the filibuster. While they address the issue gingerly, Schumer’s Democratic members are quick to show that they will not unilaterally disarm after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) engineered a massive swing of the court to the right. As Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said of Republicans on Thursday: “They’re breaking the norms and traditions. And that leaves everything uncertain.” Progressive activists want an expansion of the Supreme Court and vow to get rid of the filibuster if Democrats win. But for the most part, few Democrats want to talk about retribution three weeks before an election that they’re increasingly favored to win. “We will fill every judicial vacancy,” said Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii). "As far as I’m concerned it is highly likely that we will proceed under the same kinds of rules that they’ve put in place. I hardly call that retaliation.”
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