Former President Bill Clinton on Sunday dinged President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for vowing to press forward on filling the Supreme Court vacancy left by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
“Of course it’s superficially hypocritical, isn’t it?” Mr. Clinton said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “This is what they do.”
“Their first value is power, and they’re trying to jam the court with as many ideological judges as they can,” he said, referring to Mr. Trump and Mr. McConnell. “It’s going to further spread cynicism in our system.”
“It is what it is. It’s politics,” Mr. Clinton said.
He tried to sidestep a question of whether Democrats should try to add seats to the Supreme Court if Republicans push forward quickly on filling the vacancy.
“The last time it was tried it didn’t work out so well,” he said.
Justice Ginsburg died of pancreatic cancer Friday at the age of 87.
Mr. Clinton, who nominated Justice Ginsburg to the high court in 1993, called her a “force for equality for men as well as women.”
“She was highly respected because she bent over backwards to work with the other judges when she could,” he said.
Republicans have indicated they’re planning to push forward quickly with a nominee to fill the vacancy.
Democrats say voters should get a chance to weigh in on the pick through the presidential election, mimicking the GOP’s line from 2016 during their blockade of Judge Merrick Garland, who former President Barack Obama nominated to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.