House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) suggested Sunday that Democrats will use every possible option to stop President Donald Trump from nominating a Supreme Court justice during a lame-duck session after Election Day.
“We have our options, we have arrows in our quiver that I’m not about to discuss right now,” she said on ABC’s “This Week.” “But the fact is, we have a big challenge in our country.”
Asked if Democrats won’t “rule anything out,” Pelosi said that lawmakers have responsibilities.
She was also asked by the ABC interviewer about whether she would support another impeachment.
“We have a responsibility, we take an oath to protect and defend the constitution of the United States. We have a responsibility to meet the needs of the American people. When we weigh the equities of protecting our democracy, requires us to use every arrow in our quiver,” Pelosi responded, without elaborating or providing a plan.
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on Sept. 18 after suffering from several bouts of cancer, adding a major new battle ahead of Election Day. President Donald Trump said that he will act “without delay” to nominate a Supreme Court justice.
Pelosi was asked in the ABC interview about whether Democrats would try to expand the Supreme Court in retaliation. She mostly demurred.
“Let’s just win the election. Let’s hope the president will see the light,” Pelosi said. “This is about the people. It’s about their health, their economic well being, the health of our democracy. We have a great deal at stake here.”
Trump on Saturday said he will make his nomination this week and named Amy Coney Barrett of the Chicago-based 7th Circuit and Barbara Lagoa of the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit as possible candidates to fill the vacancy created by Friday’s death of Ginsburg, a left-wing and feminist icon.
“I will be putting forth a nominee next week. It will be a woman,” Trump said at a campaign rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina, where supporters chanted “fill that seat.” “I think it should be a woman because I actually like women much more than men.”
Trump requires Senate approval for any pick, and his fellow Republicans hold a 53-47 majority, and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has made confirming judges one of his top priorities. Republican senators have appointed hundreds of judges over the past several years.
