There are three steps in the process of nominating and confirming a new justice to the Supreme Court that President Trump and the Senate GOP will need to complete. Step 1:President Trump makes his nomination.
Trump says he will announce his nominee on Saturday, and has indicated that he still wants the Senate to vote to confirm his pick before the election. Once he makes his announcement, he’ll need to send a letter to the Senate officially notifying them about his nominee.
Selecting a qualified nominee and vetting them usually takes a presidential administration a considerable amount of time, but it’s not clear how big of a concern that is to Trump in this case, particularly if he nominates federal appeals judge Amy Coney Barrett, as many expect him to. Barrett was already vetted as a finalist to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy in 2018, but Trump selected Brett Kavanaugh instead. Step 2: The nomination goes to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Senate rules dictate that after President Trump officially notifies the upper chamber of his nominee, the nomination is referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is currently chaired by Senator Lindsey Graham, a staunch Trump ally. Once the committee is referred a Supreme Court nomination, it then normally:
Conducts a prehearing investigation vetting the nominee, which usually includes having them answer a long questionnaire, reviewing the nominee’s career and legal opinions, asking the FBI to conduct a background investigation, seeking a recommendation from the American Bar Association, and conducting in-person interviews with the nominee.
Holds a public hearing in which the nominee is questioned by members of the committee.
Votes on whether or not to recommend the nominee for a vote in the full Senate.
The Judicial Committee process, particularly the investigation phase, typically takes well over a month to complete. How long it takes in this case will likely depend on how much Lindsey Graham values the appearance of propriety — which probably isn’t very much if he is already rubber-stamping Trump’s choice before the president has even made it: Step 3: The full Senate votes on the nomination.
After the Judiciary Committee votes to recommend the nominee, the nomination moves to a floor vote, which Republicans will only need 50 votes to win — and which, in this case, they appear to already have.
With at least a simple majority of GOP senators lined up and the filibuster now long gone for Supreme Court nominations, there aren’t any significant procedural moves that Democrats can use to prevent or significantly delay the floor vote."
