Right on Time: Sen. Grassley Starts to Cave on Garland #SCOTUS Confirmation in Lame Duck

I’ve long said I expect Judge Garland to be confirmed in lame duck, if, as expected, Clinton wins the presidency and Democrats narrowly take over the Senate. The bet would be that Garland is both older and more moderate than whoever Clinton would nominate instead of Garland (and no, I don’t expect Obama to withdraw Garland’s nomination or Garland to withdraw).

Now, via Zoe Tillman, comes this story of a local rotary club Q&A with Senator Grassley, the Senate Judiciary chair, who has said it, like Sen. Majority leader McConnell, that it is up to the next president to choose the Supreme Court nominee:

Grassley said there has been a well-accepted “understanding” in Senate since 1987 that no Supreme Court vacancies should be filled in the final year of a presidential term.

“It had nothing to do with Garland (personally),” Grassley said.

Grassley said the only way his stance could change is if a large number of senators strongly urged him to consider the nomination during a so-called “lame-duck session” of Congress, during the time after the Nov. 8 election and before the new Congress takes office in January.

Watch this crack in the wall grow larger.

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