(Headline USA) Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said he would not vote for a Supreme Court nominee were another vacancy to open up before the 2024 presidential election.
“I’m not going to be hypocritical on that,” he said, according to Reuters.
“If it comes a week or two weeks before, like it did with our last Supreme Court nominee, I think that’s a time it should go to the next election,” he added, referring to former President Donald Trump’s nomination of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett right before the 2020 election.
Manchin opposed confirming Barrett at the time, claiming, “Rushing to confirm a Supreme Court nominee weeks before a presidential election has never been done before in the history of our nation, and it will only fan the flames of division at a time when our country is deeply divided.”
“I will not vote to confirm Judge Coney Barrett or any Supreme Court nominee before Election Day on Nov. 3,” Manchin continued. “I urge my Republican friends to slow down, put people before politics, and give their constituents a chance to vote.”
However, Manchin said he will have no problem voting for President Joe Biden’s nominee to replace Justice Stephen Breyer, even if the vote is scheduled close to the 2022 midterm elections.
He also praised the list of potential nominees Biden’s team has reportedly drafted.
“Whoever they choose is going to be great,” he told CNN last week.
“I think there’s a tremendous amount of qualified candidates,” he said.
“I like the background of [federal district judge Michelle Childs] from South Carolina. She seems to have a really solid background, grass roots, working family, public schools — all the right ingredients,” he added.
“We need somebody with that type of background. But they’re all qualified.”
