Blackburn says she won’t go along with plan to replace Feinstein on Judiciary panel

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) said she would not support a move by Senate Democrats to temporarily replace Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on the Senate Judiciary Committee, arguing such a move would help Democrats “pack the court with activist judges.”

“I will not go along with Chuck Schumer’s plan to replace Senator Feinstein on the Judiciary Committee and pack the court with activist judges,” Blackburn said on Twitter on Monday. “Joe Biden wants the Senate to rubber stamp his unqualified and controversial judges to radically transform America.”

Feinstein, 89, has been away from the Senate while recovering at home from a shingles diagnosis. A pair of House Democrats called for her to resign from the chamber last week. 

With Feinstein away from the Senate, Democrats have been unable to push judicial nominations through the Judiciary Committee for a full floor vote to be confirmed. Feinstein has rejected calls for her to resign but said she supported Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) appointing a temporary replacement for her on the Judiciary panel.

The move to temporarily replace Feinstein would require Republican support, with 60 votes needed in the full chamber to confirm the replacement. When Feinstein called for the replacement, it was unclear whether GOP lawmakers would be supportive of a move that could help Democrats confirm more judges.

Along with Blackburn, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) also signaled that he would not be supportive of the move to replace Feinstein on the panel.

“Republicans should not assist Democrats in confirming Joe Biden’s most radical nominees to the courts,” Cotton said on Twitter over the weekend.

Confirming federal judges has been a priority for the Biden administration and Senate Democrats since the party won a slight majority in the 2022 midterms. President Biden has outpaced nearly all of his predecessors in confirming judges.