Schumer: Democratic US Senate may block Trump nominees for Supreme Court, lower courts

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday that if Democrats retake the Senate majority in the midterms, they would block any Trump Supreme Court or lower-court nominees, holding any vacancy open until after the next presidential election. Democrats currently hold 47 seats and need a net gain of four to flip control; Cook Political Report rates several races, including North Carolina, Alaska, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas, Michigan and New Hampshire, as competitive or leaning Democratic.

The stance mirrors Mitch McConnell's 2016 blockade of Merrick Garland's nomination after Justice Antonin Scalia's death, a move Schumer and other Democrats condemned at the time as an abuse of Senate power. Trump has not yet nominated anyone to the Supreme Court in his second term, though he named Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett during his first.

Schumer declined to detail a broader legislative agenda beyond promising to lower costs and 'clamp down' on corruption, and sidestepped a question about whether he has the caucus support to remain leader, insisting Democrats are 'totally unified.'

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