Politico: “The looming battle over President Trump’s upcoming Supreme Court nominee to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is already turning into an ugly partisan brawl, with Senate Democrats warning they’ll retaliate if they win control of the chamber and White House on Nov. 3.”

“Even more than the 2018 crisis surrounding Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the high court, Democrats say the fallout from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s effort to quickly push through a new justice — who could then be confirmed this year by the Senate — could lead to permanent consequences for the institution.”

Warned Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY): “Let me be clear: if Leader McConnell and Senate Republicans move forward with this, then nothing is off the table for next year. Nothing is off the table.”

Earlier for members: How Democrats Should Handle the Court Vacancy

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) wrote to Republican senators and urged caution in how they answer questions about voting on Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s replacement on the Supreme Court:

“This is not the time to prematurely lock yourselves into a position you may later regret… I urge you all to be cautious and keep your powder dry until we return to Washington.”

“There’s no doubt everything will be sort of on the table if we’re thrown into a world where you can’t trust somebody’s word and precedents get changed at will to fit your priorities of the moment.”

— Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), quoted by the Washington Post, in response to Sen. Lindsey Graham’s decision to go back on what he said in 2018 about not voting to confirm a Supreme Court justice in an election year,

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said that she was opposed to holding a vote on President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee before the November election, and suggested that were he to lose, his successor should ultimately choose a nominee to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the New York Times reports.

“It made her the first Republican senator to explicitly say, in the aftermath of Justice Ginsburg’s death, that she would not support such a vote before November 3.”

Senate Majority Leading Mitch McConnell (R-KY) can afford to lose no more than three Republicans.

“If an opening comes in the last year of President Trump’s term, and the primary process is started, we’ll wait to the next election.”

— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), speaking in October 2018 on filling a Supreme Court vacancy just before an election.

CNN lists four Republicans senators who have said they will oppose a vote on a new Supreme Court justice just before the election:

Sen. Susan Collins to the New York Times: “I think that’s too close, I really do.”

Sen. Lisa Murkowski in September: “Fair is fair.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham in October 2018: “If an opening comes in the last year of President Trump’s term, and the primary process has started, we’ll wait to the next election. And I’ve got a pretty good chance of being the Judiciary Chairman. Hold the tape.” 

Sen. Chuck Grassley said in July he would follow the Biden rule: “I’m just following what was established by the Biden Rule in 1986 and then emphasized by him in 1992… They set the pattern. I didn’t set the pattern. But it was very legitimate that you can’t have one rule for Democratic presidents and another rule for Republican presidents.”

“Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who refused to consider former president Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee in the months leading up to the 2016 election, vowed Friday to hold a vote on President Trump’s nominee to succeed Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” the Washington Post reports.

Said McConnell: “President Trump’s nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate.”

“The statement marked the first salvo in what is certain to be a fierce political fight over whether Trump and the Republican-controlled Senate decide Ginsburg’s successor.”

Mark Kelly (D), should he win the U.S. Senate seat in Arizona, could be sworn in as early as November 30, according to elections law experts who spoke to the Arizona Republic.

“Shortly before the announcement that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had died Friday, Sen. Lisa Murkowski said in an interview that if she was presented with a vacancy on the court, she would not vote to confirm a nominee before the election,” Alaska Public Radio reports.

“Murkowski said her reasoning is based on the same reasoning that held up the confirmation of former President Barack Obama’s final nominee to the Supreme Court.”

Said Murkowski: “That was too close to an election, and that the people needed to decide. That the closer you get to an election, that argument becomes even more important.”

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) criticized his Republican colleagues on the Senate Homeland Security Committee for their probe into Joe Biden and his son’s dealings in Ukraine, saying that it has the “earmarks of a political exercise,” Axios reports.

Said Romney: “I’m fearful that comments made in the media recently have only confirmed that perspective… It’s not the legitimate role of government, for Congress or for taxpayer expense, to be used in an effort to damage political opponents.”

“Democratic insiders are assembling a coalition behind the scenes to wage an all-out war on the Senate filibuster in bullish anticipation of sweeping the 2020 election and passing an ambitious progressive agenda,” NBC News reports.

“Veteran party operatives, activist groups and supportive senators are coordinating message and strategy to dial up the pressure to quickly end the 60-vote threshold early next year, fearing that preservation of the rule will enable Republicans to kill Joe Biden’s legislative agenda in its cradle.”