ATLANTA — Some lawmakers wasted no time sparking up a conversation about who would replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg after her death was reported on Friday. And that includes several from Georgia.
Leading the charge has been Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell said, who in a statement on Saturday night, said: "President Trump's nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate".
Closer to home, Senator Kelly Loeffler said, in a tweet, that she offered up her prayers to Ginsburg’s family but that she also said she’ll support President Trump. On Fox News, Saturday morning, Senator Loeffler further stressed that.
“We need to keep that process moving regardless of it being an election year,” she said. “We need to make sure that this country has that constitutionalist on the Supreme Court. That's what I'm going to be pushing for and so many of my colleagues.”
This is what she said to CNN:
Echoing that is was Rep. Doug Collins who is running against Loeffler for her senate seat.
“If the president goes ahead, which we hope he will, and appoint someone shortly, this pick will be before an election - the people of American will decide what they want to do or not do and go about it,” he said.
However, Democratic Senate candidate Jon Ossoff cited Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's dying wish of having the next elected president pick her replacement.
“With voting already underway and at a moment such as this, we must let the people speak at the ballot box, and then let the court reflect the will of the newly-elected president and Senate," he wrote, in part.
11Alive also contacted the Rev. Raphael Warnock who is running for the seat currently held by Loeffler. Warnock wasn't available for comment but shared online his feelings about Ginsburg and the debate over her now-vacant seat.
"It's important that we not rush through this moment in trying to appoint a new member of the bench," he said. "We are a few days away from an election. That election should happen. The voices of the people that she stood up for time and time again ought to be heard before there is a vote on the next Supreme Court justice."
Senator David Perdue also issued a statement on Ginsburg's death describing her as a "trailblazer and brilliant legal mind." His office didn't comment on the vacant Supreme Court seat on Saturday but did speak on the subject the following day.
"The people of Georgia want a Supreme Court that applies the law, not makes the law," Perdue said in a written statement on Sunday. "I am confident that President Trump will nominate another highly-qualified candidate who will strictly uphold the Constitution."
He also said he supports the Senate voting on President Trump's nominee before the November election.
"If Democrats take control of the Senate, they have said they will add four seats and pack it with activist judges," he added. "The choice for the future of the Supreme Court is clear, and our nation's founding principles are at stake."