Senate Democrats dodge on SCOTUS strategy in post-midterm majority scenario

Senate Democrats declined Thursday to say whether they would block a future Trump Supreme Court nomination if they retake the majority in the midterms, sidestepping remarks from retiring Judiciary Committee Democrat Dick Durbin, who argued any nominee should get a vote regardless of party control. Senators Alex Padilla, Richard Blumenthal and Sheldon Whitehouse each declined to engage with the question directly.

Durbin's comments referenced Mitch McConnell's 2016 blockade of Merrick Garland and McConnell's subsequent fast-tracking of Amy Coney Barrett before the 2020 election, calling the first move 'overstepping.' Durbin also expressed skepticism about expanding the number of Supreme Court seats, calling it politically unrealistic.

Whitehouse, the likely next-ranking Democrat on Judiciary, has separately pushed legislation for 18-year Supreme Court term limits and an enforceable ethics code, measures he has acknowledged are unlikely to pass but intended to keep the issue alive publicly.

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