Sen. Tom Udall, New Mexico Democrat, is trying to get both President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch and President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Judge Merrick Garland on the federal bench at the same time, according to CNN.
Mr. Udall, who met with Judge Gorsuch on Monday morning, emerged to say that Mr. Trump should meet privately with the court’s current eight justices and see if any of them are retiring. If one of them is planning to step down at the end of this term in June, Mr. Trump should promise to nominate Judge Garland — and he and Judge Gorsuch could be voted on at the same time, Mr. Udall said.
“It’s a good chance for Trump to try to unite the country,” said Mr. Udall.
Senate Republicans refused to move forward on Judge Garland last year.
They hold the majority with 52 seats, so Judge Gorsuch would need eight Democrats to vote for his confirmation to get the required 60 votes to avoid a filibuster.
Carrie Severino, chief counsel for the conservative Judicial Crisis Network, said it’s “presumptuous” for Mr. Udall to talk about another nomination while only one seat is vacant.
“This is nothing more than a gimmick to distract from Judge Gorsuch’s tremendous qualifications that would make him a great Supreme Court Justice. Instead of playing silly partisan political games, Senator Udall should support an up or down vote on Judge Gorsuch,” said Ms. Severino.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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