SCOTUS fight scrambles Senate schedule, campaigns

We thought we were in the home stretch of the 2020 campaign season, with the primaries over and early voting beginning, and then on Sept. 18, another political earthquake shook us when Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died.

Democratic fundraising spiked to the stratosphere, senators prepared for possible hearings and floor votes in October — virtually unheard of in an election year — and several Republicans in tough reelection races find themselves having to address an issue for which it is unclear how it might affect close contests. Just ask Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who will preside over any hearings for a Supreme Court nominee. Or ask Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, whose vote to confirm Brett M. Kavanaugh to the high court in 2018 was already an issue in her race.

Two of CQ Roll Call’s senior staff writers, who used to team up covering Senate leadership back in the day, discuss the implications for the Senate as an institution, as well as the effect on the 2020 campaigns. Niels Lesniewski and Bridget Bowman discuss what we know, what we don’t know and what we’ll be watching in the coming days and weeks about the latest Supreme Court news.

Show Notes: