Manchin Says He Would Not Support Filling a Second SCOTUS Vacancy Right Before the 2024 Election

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) says he would not support President Joe Biden filing another Supreme Court vacancy weeks before the 2024 presidential election.

On Monday, Manchin was asked if he would support filling another Supreme Court vacancy “later in the year closer to the election.” He responded, “I’m not going to be hypocritical on that.”

“If it comes a week or two weeks before like it did with our last Supreme Court nominee, I think that’s a time it should go to the next election,” he added.

While some on Twitter initially interpreted his comments as a statement that he would not support filling a vacancy before the 2022 midterms — despite voting to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh before the 2018 midterm elections.

https://twitter.com/_EthanGrey/status/1493351152766750720

However, he later clarified, “I was referring to that election, before a major presidential election.”

That view is consistent with the stance he took during Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s 2020 confirmation process.

In Sept. 2020 statement