#Biden urges Senate GOP not to vote for SCOTUS seat before election

Former Vice President Joe Biden on Sunday pleaded with Senate Republicans not to vote on President Trump’s nominee to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg before the election.

“I’m not speaking to President Trump who will do whatever he wants. I’m not speaking to Mitch McConnell who will do what he wants and what he does. I’m speaking to those Republicans out there — Senate Republicans — who know deep down what is right for the country and consistent with the Constitution as I stand here in the Constitution Center. Not just what’s best for their party,” Biden said during a speech in Philadelphia.

The Democratic presidential nominee noted that even though Election Day isn’t until Nov. 3 many Americans fearful of the coronavirus have sent mail-in ballots or voted absentee.

He said the Republicans should allow voters to decide who the next president is, and let that person make the nomination to replace Ginsburg, who died last Friday.

“They’re the ones who the Constitution envisioned should decide who has the power to make this appointment. This appointment isn’t about the past. It’s about the future and the people of this nation,” Biden said.

“And the people of this nation are choosing their future right now as they vote. To jam this nomination through the Senate is just an exercise in raw political power and I don’t believe that people of this nation will stand for it,” he continued.

Trump told a campaign rally in North Carolina on Saturday that he would nominate a woman for the court seat and would make an announcement this week.

At the same time, Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, said he would bring the nomination to the Senate for a vote.

But two GOP senators, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, said they object to the nomination being made before the Nov. 3 election.

The Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the upper chamber.