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His plan to hold the US supreme court seat of Brett Kavanaugh for 12 months beyond 2020 has been embraced by some conservatives in Congress.
John Barrasso, chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, says Republicans should hold on to the Kavanaugh nomination until voters deliver a rebuke to Democratic governors in November.
The supreme court decision that forced a replacement judge to be named via a special confirmation vote.
The 2018 midterm elections are shaping up to be a rebuke to Donald Trump’s refusal to heed the norms of civil discourse.
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Enter Republican senator John Cornyn of Texas, the second-ranking Senate Republican, who called for a “full delay” of the confirmation vote, despite the nomination garnering 98 votes.
Cornyn is sympathetic to Republicans around the country facing tough electoral races, where voters have “underestimated the task” of turning around their fortunes.
But Democrats targeted by Cornyn’s “push back” strategy are likely to take notice, expecting they will find Trump administration officials prepared to help rather than obstruct their reelection bids.
In 2020, one of the reasons Trump’s unpopularity remains a problem for Republicans is that they can no longer count on gerrymandering to protect them against the Democrats’ inevitable retaking of the Senate.
On top of that, Trump’s decision to nix DACA meant his next reelection bid will go up against an electorate that is increasingly diverse and eager to see his party focused on his opponents. The rural Midwest states that gave Trump his shock 2016 victory have overwhelmingly switched to Hillary Clinton in recent elections.
Democrats are crafting campaigns for every seat possible in districts populated by women and minority populations that swung to Trump in 2016, their aim greater than simply recapturing the House.
In the Senate, where Republicans hold a 51-49 majority, their victory is the only way to gain a filibuster-proof 60 votes to confirm a nominee.
Many would-be 2020 Democratic candidates from New York’s senator Kirsten Gillibrand, one of the few who has formally announced her intention to run, to the Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard to the former governor of Minnesota, Mark Dayton, are already positioning themselves to court the voters whose loyalties will determine the party’s fate.
Meanwhile, Cotton is standing beside other Republicans, including Ben Sasse, of Nebraska, and Ed Royce, of California, who argue the GOP might have better leverage in a later election to allow the nomination to play out.
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“I mean, it’s a political and political-warfare exercise,” said former White House staffer Doug Heye. “They want to stop the confirmation process and if they can win that by extending it then so be it. I mean, I could see it happening.”
Admiral Raymond Thomas, a retired Navy general, said his retirement seemed imminent if the court nomination was delayed to deter political competition between the parties.
“I’m out. I’m gonna retire,” he said, to laughter from reporters gathered at the Rose Garden. “It’s my view that if it’s a tie vote I have to retire.”
For Senate Republicans, the calendar is on their side. Long campaigns would allow time for Democrats to demand concessions from a prospective Trump nominee, who could become an increasingly pivotal figure in the 2020 primaries.
Senate GOP leaders are also considering suing to take back the seat if the deadline for approving a replacement president falls within the 12-month window proposed by most of their own members.
The precedent would establish Republican leverage. If it also allowed for the delay in the Kavanaugh nomination to be retrospectively counted as the 2018 election, then such a maneuver would entitle any Republican running for president to hold the next vacancy until the end of 2024.