WASHINGTON —In an unexpected boost for Trump, Utah Republican Senator Mitt Romney said on Tuesday that he would support a floor vote on the president’s Supreme Court nominee, giving Senate Republicans enough votes to move forward.
Only two Republican senators, Maine Sen. Susan Collins and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski have asked for the party to wait until after the election for a vote on a new nominee after the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on Friday.
“I intend to follow the Constitution and precedent in considering the president’s nominee. If the nominee reaches the Senate floor, I intend to vote based upon their qualifications,” Romney said in a statement.
"My decision regarding a Supreme Court nomination is not the result of a subjective test of 'fairness' which, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder," he said.
The move to pick a new top court justice ensures a bitter political battle as Democrats argue there should be no confirmation in an election year.
President Trump says he will announce his nominee on Saturday.
Supreme Court justices are nominated to the bench by the US president but must be approved by the Senate.
With the death of Justice Ginsburg, a liberal stalwart, Trump has been given the chance to cement a rightward ideological tilt of the nine-member court by replacing her with a conservative.
Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell has vowed to hold a confirmation vote before the election in November, but a question mark had hung all week over whether enough Republicans in the chamber would back him. — Agencies
