“The last time I looked, there’s no presidential election this year,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said. | Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images McConnell defends push to confirm new justice before midterms

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday evening defended his drive to seat the next Supreme Court justice before Americans head to the polls in November.

“The last time I looked, there’s no presidential election this year,” McConnell told Fox News anchor Shannon Bream.


McConnell brushed aside accusations from Senate Democrats that he is being hypocritical for wanting a quick confirmation process to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy, after he refused to consider President Barack Obama’s nominee Merrick Garland in 2016, citing a belief at the time that the presidential campaign was already underway and the American people should be able to weigh in with their voice.

Democrats have bemoaned Garland’s treatment and have sounded the alarm over what another conservative justice would mean for such issues as affirmative action, abortion rights, gay rights and the death penalty.

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“Sounds like they’re ready to fight no matter who the nominee,” McConnell said, adding that three Democrats supported Neil Gorsuch’s nomination.

President Donald Trump’s victory, combined with McConnell’s decision to leave a vacancy on the court, allowed for the confirmation of Gorsuch, who is regarded as a much more conservative jurist than Garland. Gorsuch has played a pivotal role in recent decisions that reined in the power of unions and affirmed Trump’s power to implement a travel ban.

But accusations of hypocrisy are unfair, McConnell said, because he specifically mentioned that his decision in 2016 was linked to the presidential election. He also pointed out that past presidents have nominated justices during midterm election years. Presidents Obama, Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan all nominated justices in a midterm election year and all were confirmed. Before Garland, a nominee some Republicans refused to even meet with, five justices were nominated to fill vacancies on the court and confirmed during a presidential election year.