Senator Ernst in 2018 on if there’s an opening while Trump is in an election year: The Biden Rule is “precedent set. So come 2020, if there’s an opening, I’m sure you’ll remind me of that.”
Following Senator Joni Ernst’s confirmation that she will hypocritically rush to fill an election-year vacancy on the Supreme Court – despite holding the exact opposite position in 2016 and reiterating that position in 2018 – Iowa Democratic Party Chair Mark Smith released the following statement:
“Despite telling Iowans she holds the exact opposite position in 2016, Senator Ernst is shamelessly putting partisan politics first by rushing forward a lifetime appointment even as voters are just days away from being able to cast their ballot,” said Mark Smith, Chair of the Iowa Democratic Party. “Senator Ernst’s hypocrisy is especially concerning given that just one week after the election, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the Ernst-backed GOP lawsuit to dismantle Medicaid expansion and gut coverage protections for 1.3 million Iowans with pre-existing conditions.”
In 2016, Senator Ernst stated clearly while she refused to consider President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, “In the midst of an important election, the American people deserve to have a say in this important decision that will impact the course of our country for years to come.”
In a 2018 interview with the Des Moines Register Editorial Board, Senator Ernst again confirmed she opposed holding hearings to fill a Supreme Court vacancy in an election year, saying, “It would be precedent set, precedent set, yeah. So come 2020, if there’s an opening, I’m sure you’ll remind me of that.”
Today, the Cedar Rapids Gazette Editorial Board demanded that Senator Ernst oppose filling the Supreme Court vacancy – criticizing her “politically craven push” and saying, “Ernst promised Iowans she’d fight corruption in Washington. Instead, she’s enabled it.”