Dem Promise ‘Tooth-And-Nail’ SCOTUS Fight Against… Whomever

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): ‘It's Hard For Me To Imagine A Nominee… That We Could Support’

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): “It's hard for me to imagine a nominee [for the Supreme Court] that Donald Trump would choose that would get Republican support that we could support. So you're right.” RACHEL MADDOW, MSNBC: “So you will do your best to hold the seat open.” SCHUMER: “Absolutely.” (The Rachel Maddow Show, MSNBC, 1/3/2017)

• SCHUMER: “…we absolutely would keep the seat open. …we will fight it tooth-and-nail, as long as we have to.” (CNN’s “State Of The Union,” 1/22/17)

FLASHBACK: ‘We Need Nine'

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): “The Supreme Court handles ‘the people’s business,’ as President Reagan put it. Every day that goes by without a ninth justice is another day the American people’s business is not getting done.” (Sen. Schumer, Floor Remarks, 9/28/2016)

• SCHUMER: “At a time when Americans want to move forward, the last thing we need is this new recipe for gridlock at the Supreme Court.” (Sen. Schumer, Op-Ed, New York Daily News, 3/31/16)

• SCHUMER: “In order for justice to remain a pillar of this nation we must have a functioning judicial branch. The #SCOTUS must have nine.” (Twitter, @SenSchumer, 6/21/16)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): “The Supreme Court of the United States has nine members, not eight. We need that ninth member.” (NBC’s “Meet The Press,” 2/14/16)

SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D-CA): “The court needs nine justices to function properly. It is vital to our judicial system.” (“Senate Democrats Converge Around Supreme Court Strategy,” CNN, 2/25/16)

SEN. JEANNE SHAHEEN (D-NH): “The consequences of the Supreme Court being without all nine justices for so long can hardly be overstated. Most significant, a long-standing vacancy would compromise the Court’s ability to perform one of its most important functions, that is, establishing a uniform rule of law for the entire country.” (Sen. Shaheen, Congressional Record, S.981, 2/24/16)

SEN. DICK BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): “And so there's a duty to fill that vacancy, to make the system work. Our constitutional system depends on nine members serving on the Supreme Court…” (MSNBC, 2/15/16)

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN): “This is not just some TV show, right. ‘Eight is Enough.’ Eight is not enough on the United States Supreme Court. We’ve seen these 4-4 decisions, we’ve seen less cases taken up by the court, the lower courts are waiting, waiting to get guidance from the Supreme Court on so many important issues.” (Sen. Klobuchar, Press Conference, 9/7/16 Minute 4)

• KLOBUCHAR: “I'm in the now -- and the now is we have a 4-4 Supreme Court. We have eight people when we're supposed to have nine. We have cases that are very important that are coming before that are court.” (MSNBC, 3/24/16)

SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL): “In a few weeks the Supreme Court will start its new term with eight justices. We need nine. Major legal questions are hanging in limbo because the court is deadlocked on 4-4 votes.” (Sen. Durbin, Press Conference, 9/7/16 Minute 2)

SEN. BEN CARDIN (D-MD): “What happens if there is a 4-to-4 vote? … It matters if the Supreme Court is not fully operational and gridlocks in 4-to-4 ties.” (Sen. Cardin, Congressional Record, S.981, 2/24/16)