WASHINGTON (Washington Insider Magazine) – Senators are getting ready for a confirmation struggle to fill Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer’s seat as Congress resumes from recess this week.
Candidates will compete for the uncommon opening, while politicians will use the process to gain political scores, adding to what is already expected to be a hectic time on Capitol Hill.
When President Joe Biden names his choice to succeed Breyer, which he said he plans to do by the end of February, the Democratic-controlled Senate is ready for a fight.
On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who heads the Judiciary Committee and will be in charge of shepherding Biden’s selection through the confirmation process, stated that party leaders will guarantee that the hearings are “fair,” “deliberate,” and “timely.”
The vacancy is yet another attempt by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to bring his caucus back together after a split around voting rights bill and filibuster rules earlier this month. Democrats have a razor-thin majority in the Senate — 50-50, with a Democratic vice president to break ties — so they’ll need a candidate who can win over every single member.
Senators Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia, two noteworthy Democratic defectors on Biden’s congressional goals, haven’t voted against any of his judicial choices so far. According to an NBC News investigation, not a single Democratic senator has sided against any of Biden’s 42 Senate-confirmed federal judges, many of whom have even had Republican backing.
The Senate Judiciary Committee will convene a meeting on pending district court nominees on Tuesday, while the White House evaluates Supreme Court nominees. According to a committee staffer, the committee also intends to approve “a number of circuit court nominations in the near future.”
Rising tensions near the Russia-Ukraine frontier are also causing concern among lawmakers. A bipartisan congressional team visited Ukraine recently to offer US sympathy with the nation in the face of Russian incursion worries.
Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., have demanded member briefings on the deteriorating crisis as the government participates in diplomatic measures in the region. According to an aide, the Senate briefing would take place Thursday morning.
President Joe Biden has stated his desire to have his landmark Build Back Better Act resurrected, a massive measure that contains $1.7 trillion in clean energy spending and a boost to the economic security net. The bill, which had passed the House, was stuck in the Senate when Manchin stated last month that he would not support it.
