Democratic Senator Joe Manchin will meet Supreme Court nominee Judge Kavanaugh today. Montana Senator Steve Daines met with Judge Kavanaugh nearly two weeks ago. Yet so far, Jon Tester has refused to schedule a meeting with the eminently qualified jurist.
The reason? Tester’s unfailing loyalty to his party boss, Chuck Schumer.
According to a story from Politico today, the Senate Democrats’ party boss has instructed Dems to ‘Keep your powder dry. Don’t commit. Stay as neutral as you can, as long as you can.’ And by the looks of it, Senator Tester has taken his advice to heart, refusing to take a stand on whether he’ll vote to confirm Judge Kavanaugh.
Senator Tester promised to “meet with Judge Kavanaugh” in the coming weeks and bragged about taking his “Constitutional duty to screen the President’s nominees very seriously,” but Montanans are quickly growing tired of Jon Tester’s political games as he waits for Chuck Schumer to tell him what to do.
“Senator Tester needs to keep his word and schedule a meeting with President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, rather than continuing to delay this confirmation at all costs to appease his liberal party bosses,” said NRSC Spokesman Calvin Moore. “Montanans deserve a Senator who will put their needs first, not another rubber stamp for Chuck Schumer’s obstructionist agenda in Washington.”
BACKGROUND:
Senator Tester is a loyal rubber stamp for Chuck Schumer.
Tester Votes With Chuck Schumer (D-NY) At Least 89 Percent Of The Time. (Sen. Jon Tester, CQ Vote Studies, Accessed 3/5/18)
Since 2006, Sen. Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) IMPACT PAC Has Donated $35,000 To Tester’s Senate Campaign. (Center For Responsive Politics, Accessed 7/13/17; Federal Election Commission, Filed 4/14/17, Pg. 871)
In February 2016, Senator Tester went on a lavish $15,000 vacation to Cancun with Senator Schumer and Senator McCaskill. (Deirdre Shesgreen, “Claire McCaskill Took Two Senate Friends On Pricey Cancun Trip,” USA Today, 5/30/27)