Republicans pushing ahead to fill Ginsburg’s vacated seat

After Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died Friday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell vowed to quickly hold a vote on President Donald Trump’s eventual Supreme Court nominee. In 2016, McConnell and the Republicans blocked President Barack Obama’s nominee for nine months, saying it was an election year and voters should pick a president to fill a vacant Supreme Court seat. McConnell now says the Senate shouldn’t wait for the winner of this year’s presidential election to pick a new justice.

Class discussion: Does it surprise you that McConnell and other Republicans who argued against voting on Obama’s nominee are now eager to vote on whoever Trump picks? Are you surprised that Democrats who wanted a vote on Obama’s nominee now want to wait for the election? What should the Senate do – vote now on Trump’s selection or wait to let the winner pick a nominee? Are the sharp divisions between political parties making it impossible to get things done in Washington? Have their political differences become more extreme?