Speaker Nancy Pelosi has criticized Republicans for rushing to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg so soon after her death. Some in the GOP want her seat filled before the election on November 3.
Pelosi spoke to MSNBC's All In with Chris Hayes on Monday and warned her Republican colleagues that there would be electoral consequences if they pushed on with nominating Ginsburg's successor.
"The Republicans decided they would be disrespectful and move ahead that very night by saying they would have a vote on her replacement," the California Democrat said.
"Let's remember this is a lifetime appointment, somebody that could be there for 30 years," she said.
"It should be done with care, whoever the president is. So the hypocrisy of the Republicans on this is really not important in people's daily lives, but it is indicative that they don't keep their word.
"And this appointment, the reason the president and [Senate] Leader [Mitch] McConnell are moving forward so quickly is because they want to overturn the Affordable Care Act.
"The people know that and that's why the Republicans are rushing," Pelosi said.
"And you know what? They're going to be paying this price for elections to come, elections to come. Everyone is looking at what makes a difference in these senatorial races. We'll see. But what they don't really understand is they're going to see 2018 again and again and again in terms of defeat in the Congress."
President Donald Trump appears to have the support of at least 50 senators in his effort to fill Ginsburg's seat. Though some Republicans in the Senate have said they won't vote to advance his nominee, most of his party is behind the push.
Utah Senator Mitt Romney is reportedly undecided on the issue. Romney was the only Republican to vote in favor of an article of impeachment earlier this year but Trump may not need his vote to secure a Supreme Court nomination.
"We've got the votes to confirm Justice Ginsburg's replacement before the election," Senator Lindsey Graham told Fox News' Sean Hannity on Monday night.
"We're going to move forward in the committee; we're going to report the nomination out of the committee to the floor of the United States Senate so we can vote before the election," he said.
However, the timetable to confirm a new justice is tight. There could be as few as 38 days to fill the vacancy before the election on November 3, depending on when Trump announces his choice. A number of vulnerable Republican senators are up for re-election this year and their races could affect their willingness to rush a vote.
