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.
University of Alabama shutters Black, female student magazines
The editors of Nineteen Fifty-Six and Alice magazines were informed Monday that the university was stopping the magazines immediately. A university official cited July guidance from Attorney General Pamela Bondi.
Europe’s left is taking notes on Mamdani’s successful campaign for New York mayor
The New York mayor-elect's victory has energized the European left, with politicians casting themselves as their country's version of Mamdani, and strategists eager to study how he won.
Vern Yip’s secret to better home decor? Stop scrolling for inspiration
In the digital age, it's easy to curate the look of your home with the help of artificial intelligence and social media. But designer Vern Yip would like you to take a more hands-on, tactile approach.
FBI arrests suspect in investigation into pipe bombs planted near DNC, RNC before Jan. 6 attack
The FBI has spent years searching for the person who put bombs near the Democratic and Republican committee headquarters, hours before the assault on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
13 musical moments World Cafe loved in 2025
To close out the year, World Cafe shares some of their personal favorite music-related moments.
This High Arctic rhino may change what we know about ancient animal migrations
A 23-million-year-old rhinoceros fossil is reshaping scientists' understanding of mammal evolution.
