Senator David Perdue Discusses The Future Of The Supreme Court

Statement

U.S. Senator David Perdue (R-GA), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, this week discussed the vacancy on the United States Supreme Court and urged his colleagues to remember the integrity of the advice and consent process.

"I rise today to discuss the vacancy on the United States Supreme Court, where we've been on this issue, and what needs to happen next year when our next president is sworn in.

For months this year, I and other members of this body held our ground in saying that the American people deserved a voice in this process.

We talked about how the integrity of the advice and consent process, clearly outlined in Article II, Section 2 of the United States Constitution, was at stake.

We outlined years of precedent against nominating and confirming a Supreme Court Justice during a presidential election year.

The last time a vacancy arose and a nominee was confirmed in a presidential election year was 1932. 1888 was the last presidential election year in which a Justice was nominated and confirmed by a divided government.

Confirming a nominee to the United States Supreme Court should never be distorted by political theater of a presidential election cycle. This is a bipartisan position.

Both parties have said what I -- and my Republican colleagues -- have said all year.

Since day one, I have consistently said that no Supreme Court nominee should be considered for the Supreme Court by the Senate before the next president is sworn in. That also meant no consideration during the lame duck either, no matter the outcome of the election.

You can't have it both ways.

This was my position before the election, this is still my position today. It was and is about the principle, not the individual.

As an outsider to the political process, this was a logical and easy position to take from the very beginning. The process for nominating and confirming a Justice to the United States Supreme Court is enshrined in our Constitution.

The hyper-partisanship and politics of a presidential election cycle should have absolutely no place in this process.

Confirming any individual to a lifetime appointment to the United States Supreme Court must rise above that kind of political posturing. It must be above any political theater.

Furthermore, and as I said previously, the American people deserve a voice in this process. Election Day was not only about changing the direction of our country, but it was also a referendum on the balance of the Supreme Court for generations to come.

Our decision to withhold consent on any Supreme Court nominee until after a new president is sworn in protected the integrity of the advice and consent process from political games in a heated presidential campaign cycle. That decision was entirely within the rights and responsibilities of the Senate, as outlined in the Constitution.

We did our job, and next year we are going to continue to do that job of advice and consent as we consider the next nomination for the Supreme Court. With a new president sworn in, it will be time for the Senate to confirm a nominee to the United States Supreme Court.

The election is over. The people have spoken. Americans have elected a new president. They chose a new direction.

I urge members of this body to listen to them, and I urge this body to remember the integrity of the process.

I also look forward to hearing from whomever President-elect Trump nominates to serve on the Supreme Court, and having the opportunity to vote on his or her confirmation."

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