- Piedmont Rising
Tillis Must Follow His Own Rule: No SCOTUS Appointment Before Election
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
September 18, 2020
MEDIA CONTACT:
Peter Koltak
614-313-1245
Tillis Must Follow His Own Rule: No SCOTUS Appointment Before Election
In 2016, Tillis Agreed with the “McConnell Rule” That a New Justice Should Be Put On Hold During a Presidential Election Year
RALEIGH, N.C. - Following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Piedmont Rising calls on Senator Thom Tillis to follow his own precedent and delay any consideration of a nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court until after the upcoming November elections. In February 2016, Senator Tillis supported the “McConnell Rule,” backing Mitch McConnell as he blocked consideration of President Obama’s nominee to fill the vacancy created by Justice Scalia’s death. At that time Tillis said, “the voice of the American people should be heavily weighted in that decision and their voice will soon be heard on Election Day.”
In its next term, the Supreme Court will consider yet another challenge to the Affordable Care Act. Last week, the Trump administration filed a brief asking the Court to strike down the ACA in its entirety. If successful, protections for pre-existing conditions would be eliminated, health care costs would spike, and more than 600,000 North Carolinians could lose coverage.
“Justice Ginsburg was a legal giant who stood for decades as a champion for equality and fairness under the law. Her final wishes were that no successor be named before the upcoming election. Shortly after the election, the Supreme Court will yet again consider whether to dismantle the Affordable Care Act and strip away health care from hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians,” said Piedmont Rising Executive Director Casey Wilkinson. “Instead of hypocritically rushing to approve a Supreme Court appointment, Senator Tillis should honor Justice Ginsburg’s wishes and adhere to his own past statements, letting the American people decide who will fill the vacancy. Tillis must promise not to consider a new justice until after the upcoming elections, like he did in 2016.”
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