It is the Biden Rule that Presidents should not nominate Supreme Court justices in an election year.
Of course the Biden Rule goes back to another Democrat (at the time).
9/26/2020 Las Vegas Review-Journal:
But before there was a Biden Rule, or McConnell Rule, there was the “Thurmond Rule.”
In 1968, Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., blocked a Supreme Court chief justice nominee by President Lyndon B. Johnson.
Thurmond argued the Senate should not move forward with confirmation hearings after a certain point during a presidential election year because the process would be overtaken by politics, according to the Congressional Research Service, the nonpartisan think tank of the legislative branch.
That “rule” has been discredited as doctrine by legal scholars, but used by McConnell, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Sen. Pat Leahy, D-Vt., in past arguments for and against election-year nominations.
McConnell justified his actions in 2016 against Garland citing the “Thurmond-Leahy” rule.
Of course they meant a Presidential election year, but Biden's argument that the people should weigh in on this, would also apply to an election where the Senate is likely to change hands.
No, it's proper for the President to nominate a Supreme Court justice even in a presidential election year.
ReplyDeleteIt's also acceptable politics for the Senate to push through the confirmation (if the Senate majority is of the same party) or to decline to consider the nomination (if the Senate majority is of the opposing party).
But for the Senate to try to pass the buck by telling the President not to make a nomination... no.