Mitch McConnell Basks in GOP Victory on Courts

Senate leader looks forward to reshaping federal judiciary

Posted Jun 9, 2017 12:39 PM

By Joe Williams

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Friday said the current vacancies in the U.S. court system will allow President Donald Trump to have the longest impact on the future of the country and vowed to continue to push through his nominees, regardless of any opposition from Democrats.

The comments delivered to the Faith and Freedom Coalition are likely to rile Democrats, who blasted McConnell last year for refusing to allow even a single hearing for Merrick G. Garland, former President Barack Obama’s nominee for the Supreme Court vacancy created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia.

For years when his party was in the minority, McConnell employed the procedural speed bumps at his disposal to slow the flow of Obama’s nominations to the federal court system. When Republicans claimed the majority after the 2014 elections, the flow slowed to a trickle, and the majority leader left dozens of nominees to linger, including Garland.

“The courts — of all the things that we should be able to accomplish with this president and this Senate — the courts have the longest reach into the future,” the Kentucky Republican said. “We have a significant number of vacancies coming into this administration. The president knows this is a way to have an impact on our country far behind his tenure in office.”

McConnell recognized the nomination process would be a “tough battle” amidst what he called “blind obstruction” by the minority party.

- See more at: http://www.rollcall.com/news/mcconnell-trumps-legacy-will-be-shaped-by-court-vacancies/