Did Rob Portman vote the way they spoke on the Supreme Court in April 2016?
Rob Portman, U.S. Senator (R-OH) ·
As I have said previously, however, I believe the American people should have a voice in this debate. This is a lifetime appointment that could reshape the Supreme Court for generations, and I believe the best thing for the country is to trust the American people to weigh in. Instead of having a nomination fight in this partisan election-year environment, I believe awaiting the result of the election will give the nominee more legitimacy and better preserve the Court’s credibility as an institution. … After the election, I look forward to considering the nominee of our new president.
Voted Yea, 26 Oct 2020
Portman said in 2016 that awaiting the election result would give a nominee more legitimacy. In October 2020, eight days before the presidential election, he voted to confirm Barrett.
In April 2016, after meeting Merrick Garland, Portman said that instead of a nomination fight in 'this partisan election-year environment', awaiting the result of the election would give the nominee more legitimacy, and that he looked forward to considering 'the nominee of our new president.' His March 2016 op-ed had also cited the Republican Senate elected in 2014 as a check on the president, and in 2020 he said his 2016 comments 'were all in that context of divided government.' In October 2020, eight days before the presidential election, he voted to confirm Amy Coney Barrett.
Said vs. voted · Supreme Court
Added · Updated
Said one thing, voted another
What they said
- Date
- Where
- Statement issued by his Senate office after meeting Judge Merrick Garland.
How they voted
- Date
- Measure
- Nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court (PN2252)
- Question
- On the Nomination (Amy Coney Barrett) (Vote 224)
- Vote
- Yea