Booker: Ginsburg Seat ‘Should Not Be Filled’ Until After Inauguration, If Not, We’ll Have ‘Challenges’ of ‘Legitimacy of our Institutions’

On Friday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “All In,” Senate Judiciary Committee member Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) stated that the seat on the Supreme Court vacated by the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg “should not be filled until after the next presidential inauguration.” And that if the fight over the seat “goes the wrong way, we will have a lot of challenges in our republic for the legitimacy of our institutions and people’s faith in government leaders and government officials.”

Booker referenced statements on nominations during a presidential election year by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and stated, “We know that this seat should not be filled until after the next presidential inauguration. … The question is really the levels of integrity of each and every senator, each and every Republican colleague of mine who gave floor speech after floor speech to justify the blocking of Merrick Garland, the denying Barack Obama of a choice, some — more than 250 — I think between 250 and 300 days before the next election, I heard their justifications on their floor. And so, this is going to be a big test of integrity, and I worry. Because if it goes the wrong way, we will have a lot of challenges in our republic for the legitimacy of our institutions and people’s faith in government leaders and government officials.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett