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Fact check: Sen. Chuck Schumer’s statements about Supreme Court vacancies, 2016 vs. 2020

Matthew Brown, USA TODAY
·4 min read

The claim: Chuck Schumer has switched his position on nominating Supreme Court justices during a presidential election year

The death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has launched a partisan battle over the Supreme Court, with accusations of hypocrisy coming from both sides.

“Then vs. Now. Typical politician,” reads a Facebook post, which includes screenshots of two tweets by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.. The tweets, one from 2016 and the other from 2020, are authentic and still online at the time of this article.

The politics of the situation have markedly changed since Schumer’s 2016 tweet. It is also important to note that Schumer’s 2020 tweet was a direct quote of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., in 2016.

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Schumer's statements on high court nominations

After the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, then-President Barack Obama nominated Judge Merrick Garland, of the U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Columbia Circuit.

McConnell opposed holding hearings for Garland, saying, “The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice.”

Schumer, who was not yet Senate minority leader, joined the Senate Democrats' campaign around the hashtag #DoYourJob, attempting to galvanize support for the Garland nomination and to pressure McConnell into beginning confirmation proceedings.

The tweet cited as showing Schumer’s alleged hypocrisy was a part of this campaign. In it, Schumer highlighted the fact that 17 Supreme Court justices had been confirmed in presidential election years.

The number is accurate, though misleading, given that most of the justices nominated in election years prior to Garland were appointed in the 1800s.

Schumer has since become the leader of Democrats in the Senate.

At the time, he made clear that Democrats would oppose any of President Donald Trump's nominees for the vacant seat McConnell had blocked Obama from filling.

Fact check: In 2016, Ginsburg said president is 'elected for four years not three years'

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“The consequences are gonna be down the road,” Schumer said in January 2017. “We are not going to settle on a Supreme Court nominee. If they don’t appoint someone who’s really good, we’re gonna oppose him tooth and nail.”

The evolution follows a concurrent shift in top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell, who has made appointing justices to the high court a cornerstone of his tenure leading the Senate during the Trump presidency.

"Uh, we'd fill it," McConnell said in 2018 when asked if the Republican-controlled Senate would fill a vacant Supreme Court seat during a presidential election year.

In the hours after Ginsburg's death, Schumer issued the tweet directly quoting McConnell. He has since appeared with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, D-N.Y., to urge Senate Republicans and Trump to not fill the vacancy until after the election.

"She said 'My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.' We believe her, and so do the American people," Schumer said.

USA TODAY reached out to Schumer's office for comment.

Fact check: Ginsburg planned to stay on Supreme Court at least a few more years

Our rating: True

Sen. Chuck Schumer, like many Democrats, has changed his position on Supreme Court vacancies in the years since the Merrick Garland nomination was blocked by Sen. Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans. Both statements highlighted in online posts are accurate. We rate this claim TRUE.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Sen. Chuck Schumer’s statements about high court vacancies