Quote:
Originally Posted by CharlieDontSurf
See almost no chance of a vote pre-election - but lame duck gets interesting.
Agree. Right off the top of my head I can think of 5-6 incumbent GOP senators who are in really tight re-election fights. The ones most likely to fall (in descending order) include: (1.) Martha McSally, Arizona, (2.) Susan Collins, Maine, (3.) Cory Gardner, Colorado, (4.) Joni Ernst, Iowa, (5.) Thom Tillis, North Carolina, and (6.) Steve Daines, Montana. Thought not likely, there's a [remote?] possibility Lindsey Graham (South Carolina) and David Perdue (Georgia) could come out on the short end, but there would have to be a true "Blue Wave" election for those two to get knocked off.
Because these six incumbent Republicans are in tight re-election races - where being forced to cast a controversial [pre-election] vote could literally cost them their jobs - they'll persuade McConnell to postpone the vote until after the election. After the election, if they lose anyway, their final FU to the voters in their states will be to vote Trump's nominee in during the lame duck session. Realizing that forcing these vulnerable Republican senators to vote before the election will probably cost him his coveted Majority Leader status, Mitch will try and "persuade" Trump not to put forth a nominee before the election. However, with Trump being Trump, who knows how this plays out?
Politics ... Don't you just love it!?