SCHUMER: I can't -- it's hard for me to imagine a nominee that Donald Trump would choose that would get Republican support that we could support. So you're right.MADDOW: And so you will do your best to hold the seat open?SCHUMER: Absolutely.
Asked if it's fair to say the Supreme Court vacancy is "basically a stolen seat," Schumer replied, simply, "Yes."Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) office was only too pleased last night to send around quotes Democrats made last year about the need for nine justices on the high court.I imagine Dems will be equally eager to send around quotes from several Senate Republicans, who said -- when they assumed Trump would lose -- that they were prepared to block any Supreme Court nominee, regardless of merit, until 2021, at the earliest.In other words, the parties will have no trouble effectively swapping each other's talking points, with Republicans reading the Democratic script from 2016, and vice versa.Keep in mind, judicial nominees can now be confirmed by a majority vote, but that does not apply to Supreme Court nominees, who can still be filibustered. If Schumer is serious about this, and Democrats remain largely united against a far-right Trump nominee -- assuming Trump sends a far-right nominee to the Senate for consideration -- the Republican majority will have to choose whether to execute a "nuclear option" of their own.This fight may start to unfold as early as this month.