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Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) wants President Donald Trump to keep his word in uniting the country by working to confirm both Neil Gorsuch and Merrick Garland at the same time, reports Politico.
“You had President Trump saying, ‘I want to unite the country, I’m a deal-maker, I’m going to bring people together,’” Udall told reporters following his meeting with Gorsuch on Monday. “Well, the deal right now for President Trump, if he wanted to do it, would be to put Gorsuch and Merrick Garland on the court at the same time.”
Udall explained his plan, which sounds like something out of the “West Wing,” would reportedly work as follows:
Trump would discuss the option with one of the three Supreme Court justices often mentioned as retirement prospects in the coming years – Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer or Anthony Kennedy – and secure a resignation letter from one of them, contingent on Garland getting nominated and confirmed as their replacement.
Then the two nominees would have a simultaneous confirmation process and votes.
Politico has called the Senator’s idea, a “pipe dream,” due to the fact that Trump galvanized his base with his list of Supreme Court nominees, and received high praise for his choice of Gorsuch. Furthermore, the New York Times has even mentioned that the current administration is already setting plans in motion to have another justice lined up should current Justice Kennedy retire.
White House officials who accompanied Gorsuch into his meeting with Udall declined to say anything in response to Udall’s suggestion, and Udall has yet to mention whether this plan would even secure his vote to confirm Udall reports Politico.
“I’m going to do the same thing I’m going to do with this nomination and whatever nomination comes before us,” Udall said. “You’d still have the same review of the other nominations. The key to the whole thing … you wouldn’t want one side to back out of it.”
He added: “It’s an idea. It’s just an idea, I threw it out to them, I throw it out to you.”
