WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski on Sunday said she opposes a vote on any U.S. Supreme Court nominee ahead of the November election, becoming the second Republican in the chamber to publicly oppose acting on President Donald Trump’s choice, according to several U.S. media outlets.
“I did not support taking up a nomination eight months before the 2016 election to fill the vacancy created by the passing of Justice Scalia,” Murkowski said in a statement, reported by Axios and other outlets. “We are now even closer to the 2020 election – less than two months out – and I believe the same standard must apply.”
Fellow Republican Susan Collins on Saturday also said she would not support moving to replace the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg before the Nov. 3 presidential contest.
(Additional reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Jan Wolfe; Writing by Susan Heavey; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
