Just hours before Biden spoke, a second Republican senator, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, joined Sen Susan Collins of Maine in opposing efforts to fill Ginsburg's seat before the next president is elected.US Presidential Elections 2020 LIVE news updates: Democrat leader Joe Biden Sunday slammed President Donald Trump and leading Senate Republicans for trying to jam through a replacement for the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and urged more senators to stand with a pair of GOP colleagues who oppose the election-season rush.
The extraordinary televised plea from the Democratic presidential candidate to Republican senators reflected the ferocious maneuvering that has followed Ginsburg’s death at 87 on Friday. Her passing upended a campaign that had, until then, focused on Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, the nation’s economic collapse and racial unrest that has stoked protests in US cities.
Trump has said he intends within days to name a woman to succeed the liberal icon, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was moving ahead swiftly with plans for confirmation hearings and votes. Just hours before Biden spoke, a second Republican senator, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, joined Sen Susan Collins of Maine in opposing efforts to fill Ginsburg’s seat before the next president is elected.
(Inputs from AP)