With a few more
“The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president.” — Sen. Mitch McConnell, 02/13/2016
“This nomination will be determined by whoever wins the presidency in the polls.” — Sen. Mitch McConnell, 02/23/2016.
“This is the last year of a lame-duck, and if Ted Cruz or Donald Trump get to be president, they’ve all asked us not to confirm or take up a selection by president Obama. So if a vacancy occurs in their last year, of their first term, guess what, you will use their words against them. You will use their words against them. I want you to use my words against me. If there is a Republican president in 2016 and a vacancy occurs in the last year of the first term, you can say Lindsey Graham said ‘let’s let the next president, whoever it might be, make that nomination,’ and you could use my words against me and you'd be absolutely right.” — Sen. Lindsey Graham, (R-SC) 03/10/2016
“I'll tell you this, if an opening comes in President Trump's term, and the primary process has started, we will wait until the next election.” — Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), 10/03/2018 .
“A lifetime appointment that could dramatically impact individual freedoms and change the direction of the court for at least a generation is too important to get bogged down in politics. The American people shouldn’t be denied a voice.” —Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) 03/16/2016
“We have a unique opportunity for the American people to have a voice in the direction of the Supreme Court. Our side believes very strongly that the people deserve to be heard, and they should be allowed to decide, through their vote for the next president, the type of person who should be on the Supreme Court.” — Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), 04/07/2016
“The president [Obama] exercised his unquestioned authority under the constitution, to nominate someone to this vacancy. But that same constitution reserves to the United States senate, and the United States senate alone, the right to either grant or withhold consent to that nominee.” — Sen. John Cornyn, (R-Texas). 03/16/2016
“Justice Scalia was an American hero. We owe it to him, & the Nation, for the Senate to ensure that the next President names his replacement.” — Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) 02/13/2016.
“It has been 80 years since the Senate has confirmed any judicial vacancy for the Supreme Court that occurred during a presidential election and the Republican majority in the Senate last year announced before Merrick Garland was nominated, before anyone was nominated, that we were going to keep this seat open and let the American people decide.” — Sen. Ted Cruz, (R-Texas) 01/31/2016
“I think we’re too close to the election. The president who is elected in November should be the one who makes this decision.” —Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Col.) 02/13/2016
”I don’t think we should be moving on a nominee in the last year of this president’s term — I would say that if it was a Republican president .” —Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) 02/01/2016
“It makes the current presidential election all that more important as not only are the next four years in play, but an entire generation of Americans will be impacted by the balance of the court and its rulings. Sens. Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Chuck Schumer and Harry Reid have all made statements that the Senate does not have to confirm presidential nominations in an election year. I will oppose this nomination as I firmly believe we must let the people decide the Supreme Court’s future.” —Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) 03/16/2016
“We will see what the people say this fall and our next president, regardless of party, will be making that nomination.” —Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) 02/25/2016
“Vice President Biden’s remarks may have been voiced in 1992, but they are entirely applicable to 2016. The campaign is already under way. It is essential to the institution of the Senate and to the very health of our republic to not launch our nation into a partisan, divisive confirmation battle during the very same time the American people are casting their ballots to elect our next president.” —Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), 02/26/16
“The very balance of our nation’s highest court is in serious jeopardy. As a member of theSenate Judiciary Committee, I will do everything in my power to encourage the president and Senate leadership not to start this process until we hear from the American people.” —Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) 02/18/2016
“The next President must nominate successor that upholds constitution, founding principles.” —Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) 02/13/2016
“I strongly agree that the American people should decide the future direction of the Supreme Court by their votes for president and the majority party in the U.S. Senate.” —Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) 02/14/2016
“The next Court appointment should be made by the newly-elected president.” —Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Penn.), 02/15/2016
“In this election year, the American people will have an opportunity to have their say in the future direction of our country. For this reason, I believe the vacancy left open by Justice Antonin Scalia should not be filled until there is a new president.” —Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) 02/13/2016
“The Senate should not confirm a new Supreme Court justice until we have a new president.” Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) 02/13/2016
“There is 80 years of precedent for not nominating and confirming a new justice of the Supreme Court in the final year of a president’s term so that people can have a say in this very important decision.” —Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) 02/17/2016
“I believe the best thing for the country is to trust the American people to weigh in on who should make a lifetime appointment that could reshape the Supreme Court for generations. This wouldn’t be unusual. It is common practice for the Senate to stop acting on lifetime appointments during the last year of a presidential term, and it’s been nearly 80 years since any president was permitted to immediately fill a vacancy that arose in a presidential election year.” —Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) 02/15/2016
And just one more time, Lindsey:
“And you could use my words against me and you'd be absolutely right.”