Jon Tester Faces Supreme Court Filibuster Hypocrisy

Senate Democrats are threatening to filibuster a new Supreme Court nominee no matter who is named. Yet Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) did not mince words last year on the Senate’s duty concerning Supreme Court nominees. He stated numerous times that the Senate’s Constitutional “duty” was to provide advise and consent to a Supreme Court nominee:

“And then we have the Supreme Court. You know, the Constitution which people cite in this body a lot and should is very clear that the Senate has a duty to advise and consent to the President’s Supreme Court nominees. I just heard the Republican Leader the other day say there will be no Supreme Court nominee taken up this year.”

Senator Tester was also very clear about the dangers of a long-term absence on the nation’s highest court. Speaking on the Senate floor, Tester said that tie votes on the Supreme Court made them “as dysfunctional as Congress”:

“That’s great, now the Supreme Court is as dysfunctional as Congress. And we see it with the decisions that come out on tie votes. They won’t even give Judge Garland a meeting much less a hearing. I think the American people deserve better.”

Senator Tester’s statements about the Supreme Court last year leave no room for interpretation. He was strongly for a Senate that gave a nominee an up and down vote last year. Anything less than that this year is a major flip flop.