Alabama Dem vows ‘independent judgment’ on Trump Supreme Court pick

Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.) said Sunday that he is still mulling whether he will vote to confirm President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee.

“I think that I’ve got to look at this nominee,” Jones said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “I’m going to make an independent judgement. That’s my job.”

Sen. Doug Jones, an Alabama Democrat, on whether he will vote for President Trump’s Supreme Court justice nominee: “I am going to make an independent judgment and a view” pic.twitter.com/1WwNmvwFxp

— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) July 8, 2018

Pressed on whether the red-state Democrat would vote to confirm Trump’s nominee, Jones said it was improper to make an assumption on how he would vote based on his state’s politics.

“I don’t think anyone should expect me to simply vote yes for this nominee just simply because my state may be more conservative than others,” he said. “I think even the people of Alabama like to make sure they have judges that adhere to the rule of law.”

{mosads}

Trump is expected to announce his pick to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy on Monday. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has called on the chamber to hold a vote on Trump’s nominee before the midterm elections in November.

A vote on Trump’s pick would likely put red-state Democrats in a tough position — voting against the nominee could isolate more moderate voters and cost them their seats in November, but voting to confirm the nominee could weaken their support among Democrats.

In an interview on “Fox News Sunday,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) predicted that Democrats from states that Trump won in the 2016 election will face “a very hard decision” on the president’s Supreme Court pick, urging Republicans to rally behind the eventual nominee. 

And in an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) declined to say whether every Democrat in the chamber would oppose Trump’s nominee, because the pick has not yet been announced.

He also disputed the notion that Senate Democrats would vote on the nominee with their reelection bids in mind.