Carrie Severino: SCOTUS Nomination Precedent Is on Trump’s Side

Informal precedent set by previous presidents supports President Donald Trump making a nomination to the Supreme Court following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, explained Carrie Severino, president of the Judicial Crisis Network, offering her remarks on SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Daily with host Alex Marlow.

Marlow asked, “Are [Democrats] even correct here? Is the precedent that no one is nominated or voted on in these situations?”

Severino noted that every time a Supreme Court vacancy has opened up in a presidential election year, the president has put forth a nomination. She said, “The precedent is exactly the opposite. The precedent is [that] every time in American history there has been an election year vacancy, there has been a nominee for that seat. So a hundred percent is the precedent that someone gets nominated? Yeah. From Obama, that was the precedent that every single president has done.”

“There is also precedent for whether [a Supreme Court nomination] is confirmed,” she added. “As the President was pointing this out this morning, it has everything to do with who controls the Senate. If the Senate and the White House are controlled by the same party — as they are, now — the precedent is, overwhelmingly, they get confirmed.”

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Severino recalled, “There are a few examples where they haven’t been [confirmed]. Weird things where where there were other ethical concerns or something going on with the particular nominee. That is the precedent. Just as in 2016 when the White House and the Senate are controlled by different parties, the nominee doesn’t get confirmed.”

She added that Democrat consideration of impeaching Trump and Attorney General William Barr amount to a “burn-it-all-down strategy” embraced by left-wing groups driving recent and ongoing riots.

Severino further warned, “I feel like there is nothing holding [Democrats] back at this point in terms of norms or the idea of, ‘Hey, what’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, we don’t want to go down this road.’ No. I think at this point you’ve got a lot of people who are so angry. It’s this kind of riot burn-it-all-down mentality. They’re going to do whatever it takes to kind of gain political power regardless of being — just like [they’re] burning cities down — regardless of the institution [they] burn down in the process.”

She then reflected on Ginsburg’s legacy, including Ginsburg’s perseverance and work ethic.

“It is important to recognize what an important figure in the law Justice Ginsburg was,” Severino remarked. “As a mother myself and a woman in law, I can really respect what she accomplished. She worked her way through law school with young children. One thing I felt was so inspiring was, her husband had cancer when she was in law school. She went to her classes and his classes [and] took notes for both of them. They both graduated with flying colors and became incredibly accomplished lawyers. She obviously was very dedicated.”

Severino concluded, “I don’t agree with her on everything she did jurisprudentially, of course, but you could really respect her strength of character and, of course, the long fight she put it up against cancer, beating cancer so many times before obviously succumbing to it this Friday. A very impressive life and a trailblazing woman on the court.”