President Donald Trump said on Thursday night that he is “no longer angry” with Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) because of the senator’s support for confirming a Supreme Court justice before the election.
“Do you see what’s going on with the Republican Party, how unified the Republican Party is? Right? Now we’re unified,” Trump told a crowd of supporters in Jacksonville, Florida, on Sept. 24. “It’s a beautiful thing to see. Thank you, Mitt. Thank you. Appreciate it. Even Mitt’s onboard. No, it’s a good thing to see.”
Romney was the only Republican senator to vote in favor of convicting Trump during the impeachment trial. The Utah Senator voted for convicting Trump on the abuse of power charge, but voted to exonerate the president on the charge of obstructing justice. Trump spotlighted the vote, but said he’s no longer upset thanks to Romney’s stance of the Supreme Court confirmation.
“Of course when they did the impeachment hoax, we had 197 to nothing in the House and 52 to a half, that was Mitt,” the president said referring to the impeachment vote counts for Republicans in the House and Senate.
“But that’s OK, I’m no longer angry at Mitt because he’s being very nice on the Supreme Court. He’s doing the right thing. I just want him to do the right thing.”
The president is scheduled to announce a female nominee for the Supreme Court on Saturday. The appointee, if confirmed, will fill the seat left vacant by the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who passed away last week.
Republicans hold a thin but reliable majority in the Senate, so Romney’s support is crucial for moving the nomination forward quickly. The Democrats promised to pull out all the stops to attempt and derail the process until after Election Day.
Romney has frequently criticized Trump, but fell in line with fellow Republicans shortly after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that he would move to confirm any nominee put forth by Trump.
“The Constitution gives the President the power to nominate and the Senate the authority to provide advice and consent on Supreme Court nominees,” Romney said in a statement. “Accordingly, I intend to follow the Constitution and precedent in considering the President’s nominee. If the nominee reaches the Senate floor, I intend to vote based upon their qualifications.”
Trump has said that having a full Supreme Court bench would be crucial for resolving any election-related legal challenges.
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