World News: OnPolitics: It appears Republicans have the votes they need

Tuesday, September 22

Republican Senator from Utah Mitt Romney speaks to reporters outside the Senate Chamber at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on September 21, 2020.

It appears Republicans have the votes they need

A few days of speculation gave way to actual news on Tuesday.

A few days of speculation hit the skids Tuesday.

Republicans in the Senate have the votes they need to approve a new justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, following the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg Friday.

"We've got the votes to confirm Justice Ginsburg's replacement before the election. We're going to move forward in the committee," Graham said on FOX News. "We're going to move the nomination out of the committee to the floor of the United States Senate so that we can vote before the election. That's the Constitutional process."

The debate over whether Republicans should move forward with a nomination before the November presidential election dominated the days after Ginsburg's death. Two Republican senators, Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, had both said the party should wait until after the election to have hearings on a possibly nominee. Because the Senate Republican majority is so slim, they can't lose more than 3 votes.

But Sen. Mitt Romney, seen as possibly the last holdout on the right, confirmed Tuesday that he supported moving forward on naming and confirming a nominee. Democrats don't have much they can do to stop the process.

"I intend to follow the Constitution and precedent in considering the president's nominee," Romney said. "If the nominee reaches the Senate floor, I intend to vote based upon their qualifications."

Here's what else is happening:

•	President Trump says he'll announce his Supreme Court nominee this weekend.
•	Facebook is preparing 'break-glass' measures in case of violence after the election.
•	A Canadian woman has been charged with sending the poison ricin to the president.
•	Trump and Joe Biden are tied in swing-state Iowa.
•	And here's a look at some of RBG's more powerful quotes.