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Manchin is known for his willingness to work with Republicans
The Senate must insist upon 60-votes for any Supreme Court nominee
Moderate Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin said his party should not replicate how Republicans treated Merrick Garland when former President Barack Obama nominated him to fill a vacant seat on the Supreme Court.
Republican lawmakers refused to have confirmation hearings on the Appeals Court judge to consider voting for him.
“That was wrong. That was disgraceful,” the West Virginia Democrat told CNN’s Chris Cuomo Wednesday on “New Day.” “Now (Democrats) think, ‘Okay, that’s how we were treated, so we’re going to treat them the same.’”
“That’s not what we were sent here to do. That’s not what I’m going to do,” Manchin added. “I’m anxious to sit down with the new nominee to find out more about him.”
Donald Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch to that seat Tuesday, so confident that he’d be approved that he called him “an absolute home run.”
Because Senate rules require 60-votes for any Supreme Court nominee, some Democrats will have to back Gorsuch for him to be approved.
Manchin is known for his willingness to work with Republicans on more conservative issues like abortion and gun ownership.
The West Virginia senator said for the Supreme Court to function as designed, lawmakers must prioritize filling the seat left vacant following Justice Antonin Scalia’s death last year.
“If you want the third branch of government to work, then you’ve got to have a nine-member Supreme Court, so if Republicans did something and now Democrats are going to do something, two wrongs don’t make a right,” he said.