Gov. Tom Wolf To Sen. Pat Toomey: Follow Precedent, Wait To Confirm Supreme Court Nominee
HARRISBURG, Pa. (KDKA/AP) -- Governor Tom Wolf calling on U.S. Senator Pat Toomey to refuse to confirm President Donald Trump's nomination of a replacement to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court until the elected presidential candidate is sworn into office.
In a statement on Thursday, Pennsylvania's governor called on the state senator to follow the precedent he set in 2016. Toomey, who endorsed waiting eight months until after the 2016 election to fill a Supreme Court vacancy, said earlier this week that he will vote to confirm the president's nominee if his "objective, non-partisan criteria" is met.
"At a time when vital issues that affect the lives, health and safety of Pennsylvanians are being brought for consideration before the highest court in the nation, our leaders must proceed with great care and deliberation as they determine the right person to fill Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's seat on the bench.
"The next Supreme Court Justice will join the court in ruling on key issues of our day that are of grave importance to Pennsylvanians, including health care and a woman's right to choose. It would be an unconscionable error to rush into a nomination when the people of Pennsylvania and the nation as a whole will make clear their wishes for the future of our country in a few short weeks," Gov. Wolf said in a release.
In 2016, Toomey supported the decision to put off consideration of President Barack Obama's nominee, Merrick Garland, nominated in March to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia.
At the time, Toomey said, "with the U.S. Supreme Court's balance at stake, and with the presidential election fewer than eight months away, it is wise to give the American people a more direct voice in the selection and confirmation of the next justice."
As a result, Trump made the pick. Now Toomey says he will confirm President Trump's nominee if his criteria is met, saying this time is different because the White House and the Senate are controlled by the same parties, unlike in 2016.
(TM and © Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
