Senate Majority Whip Sen. John Cornyn cautioned the president against selecting any nominee with a publicly stated position on overturning court precedents such as Roe v. Wade. | Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo Cornyn: Supreme Court confirmation vote likely after Labor Day

The second-ranked Senate GOP leader on Thursday suggested the Supreme Court confirmation vote to replace Anthony Kennedy would take place sometime in September, saying he "would be shocked" if the vote happened before Labor Day.

Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) added that he is "not opposed" to moving President Donald Trump's nominee more quickly, but he noted that background checks on Trump's still-unnamed pick are likely to take time.


Republicans have already made clear that they don't plan to heed Democratic calls for a delay in the Supreme Court confirmation until after November's election to give midterm voters a chance to weigh in.

Supreme Court nominees since the Ford administration spent an average of 67 days between their nomination and final confirmation, according to a 2015 report from the Congressional Research Service — a window that Cornyn told reporters he "would endorse" as a goal. Of course, that figure doesn't include President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland, whom Republicans blocked and denied a confirmation hearing in 2016.

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Republican senators anticipate dedicating much of August to passing appropriations bills, meaning that a final Supreme Court vote would wait until September. The high court's next term is set to begin on the first Monday of October.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), however, declined to commit to any timetable.

"Everything is going to be judged by when the president makes an appointment and what [Majority Leader Mitch] McConnell wants to schedule," Grassley said. At this point, it’s all speculation. And there’s no point in speculating."

Cornyn also cautioned Trump against selecting any nominee with a publicly stated position on overturning court precedents such as Roe v. Wade.

"I think that would be a terrible mistake, for the president to nominate somebody who had that sort of agenda," Cornyn told reporters, adding that "we don’t need judges who have either personal or political or ideological agendas, in my view. And I think that ought to comfort all of us."

It’s common for presidents of both parties to avoid picking a nominee with a lengthy paper trail for opponents to seize on, though Trump has previously said he would want to appoint anti-abortion judges to the high court.

One member of Trump's Supreme Court shortlist, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), has championed anti-abortion legislation, although he suggested Thursday that Roe might be safer after Kennedy's retirement than some on the left have argued.

Burgess Everett contributed to this report.

