Doug Jones: Supreme Court Nomination Is ‘A Political Power Play’
President Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday he’ll announce his nominee for the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat on the U.S. Supreme Court Saturday. The fight over the high court added gasoline to a partisan fire and rubbed salt on political wounds.
If Republicans can hold their Senate caucus together, a swift confirmation is possible. Meanwhile, Democrats have said the matter should be left until after the election. They’ve also accused Republicans of hypocrisy for refusing to consider President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland, in 2016, also an election year.
The partisan divide is playing out in Alabama, too.
“In this particular circumstance, it would be better to wait and see,” Democratic Sen. Doug Jones said.
Jones said voting is already underway and the winner of November’s election should make the pick. He said Congress has more urgent items than a Supreme Court confirmation, including a coronavirus relief package, appropriations bills and a defense authorization.
“This is pure raw politics and I think this is hurting the Senate as an institution,” Jones said.
Jones’ Republican opponent in his re-election battle, former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville, issued a statement saying the Senate should begin the confirmation process as soon as possible.
“The next Supreme Court justice could open the door to finally overturning Roe v. Wade, protecting our gun rights, and firmly securing the religious freedoms guaranteed to us by the First Amendment,” Tuberville wrote in the statement.
Republican Sen. Richard Shelby also expressed support for a swift confirmation process.
Jones opposed President Trump’s last nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, although he has supported other Trump nominees to the federal bench. He said he’s hopeful enough Republicans will speak out to delay the process.
“I lived through the Kavanaugh vote and how divisive and ugly and partisan it became. That is the last thing that we need right now,” Jones said.
After decisive loss at Alabama Mercedes plants, powerful auto union vows to return and win
Newly elected UAW President Shawn Fain said the union will return to Mercedes and will press on with efforts to organize about 150,000 workers at more than a dozen auto factories across the nation.
Gulf South states among U.S. leaders for juvenile life without parole sentences, study shows
A youth sentencing study shows Alabama and Mississippi are among just four states that top the nation in new juvenile life without parole sentences since 2012.
Workers at Alabama’s Mercedes plants vote against joining a union
The workers voted 56% against the union, according to tallies released by the National Labor Relations Board, which ran the election.
Taylor Hunnicutt is championing her home state with debut album ‘Alabama Sound’
Alabama offers a diverse symphony of swampy rock, swaggering blues, murky country, and bone-rattling soul. It’s a sound singer-songwriter Taylor Hunnicutt recently reimagined on her debut album, Alabama Sound, which is out now.
UAB building among Alabama’s first to feature ‘bird safe’ glass
Advocates hope the new glass will prevent window collisions, a leading causes of bird mortality.
Researchers look into community health impact of wood pellet production in rural Mississippi
Brown University and Tougaloo College students are testing for potential air and noise pollution near the Drax wood pellet plant in Gloster, Mississippi.
