Key Senate Republicans came out Monday against temporarily replacing Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., on the Judiciary Committee, leaving Democrats in a predicament as several of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees are bottled up in the panel.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, a senior member of the committee who is close to party leaders, said he and his colleagues oppose the idea as it would help Democrats advance judges on a party-line basis.
“These are, by definition, the most controversial nominees,” Cornyn told NBC News. “And if Democrats are depending strictly on their own party-line vote to get them out of committee— I don’t think there’s any appetite on our side to help what we consider to be controversial or unqualified nominees to get confirmed.”
Asked whether there’s a path to winning the 10 Senate Republicans needed to break a filibuster and execute the swap, he said: “I don’t think so.”
Feinstein, 89, has been absent from the Senate for weeks after she revealed she had been hospitalized with shingles. Amid calls to resign her seat, Feinstein issued a statement asking that she be swapped out with another Democrat so the panel can advance judges until she is able to return.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who also sits on the committee, also came out against the Feinstein plan on Monday.
“I will vote against any attempt by Senate Democrats to temporarily replace Sen. Feinstein on the Judiciary Committee. I deeply respect Senator Feinstein, but this is an unprecedented request solely intended to appease those pushing for radical, activist judges,” Tillis wrote on Twitter.
Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, also rejected the proposal.
“They’d like Republicans to help them speed the appointment of more liberal justices? Yes — when hell freezes over,” he said.
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