Politics & Government

Baker: Supreme Court Pick 'Too Important To Rush'

Gov. Charlie Baker rebuked President Trump's call for Republicans to vote "without delay" on Ruth Bader Ginsburg's replacement.

Gov. Charlie Baker does not believe the Senate should vote on a new Supreme Court justice before the election.
Gov. Charlie Baker does not believe the Senate should vote on a new Supreme Court justice before the election. (Jenna Fisher/Patch)

BOSTON, MA — Gov. Charlie Baker is deviating from Republicans' call to push through President Trump's nomination for the U.S. Supreme Court. Trump tweeted Saturday that Republicans must vote "without delay" on his pick to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died Friday.

Baker disagrees, tweeting that the pick is "too important to rush and must be removed from partisan political infighting."

"The passing of Justice Ginsburg is not only a loss for the court but for the entire nation, and I urge President Trump and the U.S. Senate to allow the American people to cast their ballots for President before a new justice is nominated or confirmed," Baker wrote.

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Ginsburg died of complications of metastatic pancreas cancer at her home in Washington, D.C. Her death has already ramped up campaigning over the makeup of the court in advance of the Nov. 3 election.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell – who blocked consideration of former President Barack Obama's nominee, Merrick Garland, following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in 2016 – said in a statement Friday that he will allow the chamber to vote on a Trump nominee.

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Trump said Saturday it is the "obligation" of the GOP to pick the next Supreme Court justice.

"We were put in this position of power and importance to make decisions for the people who so proudly elected us, the most important of which has long been considered to be the selection of United States Supreme Court Justices. We have this obligation, without delay!" the president wrote on Twitter.


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