Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Monday that several Republicans that he contacted regarding President Joe Biden's Supreme Court pick may be open to confirming the nominee.
''I've spoken and texted to several Republican senators that I think may be open to the idea, no promises made, of considering a Biden nominee for the court. What I basically said to them is we're going to make the nominee available and certainly any materials and information you need so that you can draw your own conclusion as to whether she is worthy of your vote,'' Durbin stated.
Biden has said that he will nominate the first Black woman to the Supreme Court.
Durbin said that he spoke to Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the committee's ranking member, with whom he says he has a ''good working relationship,'' and that ''I told him that there will be no surprises as far as I was concerned, and I would never stab him in the back.''
Durbin added that he also spoke with Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, but declined to name others he had spoken to, saying that ''I will tell you that my list is longer than you would initially imagine. And it's based on my observation of members of the committee and working with them and my hopes that some of them will be open to making this a bipartisan majority.
''That's my goal. I want to make this a bipartisan vote for the filling of this vacancy. I think it is not only good for the Supreme Court. It's good for the Senate,'' he said.
Durbin downplayed the idea that Republicans could delay the nominee's confirmation by possibly skipping the committee vote, saying: ''I think they will accept their constitutional responsibility in the process. There may be one or two dissenters on their side, but most of the senators feel on both sides that this is a moment where we need to do our constitutional duty.''
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.