Thread by @Eric_Schmitt

Tomorrow @realDonaldTrump will announce his nominee for #SCOTUS.

He should absolutely move a name forward.

And the Senate should absolutely move forward with a floor vote.

The Constitution, our history and norms support these actions. Full stop. #FillTheSeat

--A THREAD--

.@realDonaldTrump's nominee for #SCOTUSl should receive a floor vote. This is the norm for a Senate who is of the same party as the President. There have been 29 Supreme Court vacancies during election years or lame-duck terms and the President has always made a nomination.

In 19 of those 29 cases the President's party has held the Senate. 17 of those nominees were confirmed, 9 before the election and 8 after. The last time a divided government confirmed the nominee was 1888, with President Grover Cleveland. #FillTheSeat

Historically when the opposing party controls the Senate they can block the appointment. That’s supported by precedent. Only once has a nomination been made by a sitting president before election day with a Senate of the opposite party & had the Justice confirmed. CJ Fuller 1888

There is also plenty of time to move forward before the election - Justice John Paul Stevens was confirmed in 19 days. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor in 33 days. And the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 42 days.

There is overwhelming precedent to support the Senate's moving forward with the confirmation process of the President's nominee. This is not analogous to the 2016 passing of J. Scalia where a lame duck President made a nomination to a Senate of the opposite party. #FillTheSeat

In 2016, President Obama was asking the Republican Senate to do something which had not been done in 130 years. It was also not the precedent. The Senate majority did exactly what Senate Democrats said they would do in 1992 and again in 2007.

Our Constitution & laws set up the means by which authority is excersized. Within those limiting principals we govern. The people have elected @realDonaldTrump & a @GOP controlled Senate. It's wholly appropriate to select & confirm a nominee before election day. #FillTheSeat

Our #SCOTUS nomination process has become more partisan in recent yrs. But the norm has always been to hold it open until the next election when there is a conflict between the branches & move forward when the President & Senate are of the same party #FillTheSeat @realDonaldTrump

When the American people have elected a Senate majority to work alongside the sitting President of the same party, the historical record is overwhelmingly in favor of the confirmation of a sitting President's nominee. #FillTheSeat @realDonaldTrump

In short, in the absence of divided government, election year nominees get confirmed. #FillTheSeat

--END THREAD--