Three Democratic senators at the heart of the battle over Donald Trump's Supreme Court nomination declined to attend the Monday event where he plans to do his big prime-time reveal.
Democratic Sens. Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, and Joe Manchin of West Virginia—all of whom cast "Yea" votes for Neil Gorsuch—sent their regrets to the White House with a relatively similar message.
Donnelly similarly said he appreciated the invitation but preferred to "meet first with the nominee in a setting” where they could more freely exchange ideas. Democratic Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama also declined the invitation.
This is a good showing for red-state Democrats with a relatively unified message. Plus, Manchin drilled down on pre-existing conditions—an issue that's preeminent to both his constituency and the strategy laid out by Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer last week in a New York Times op-ed. As Schumer noted:
The next Supreme Court justice could wipe out the entire law and its protections for as many as 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions.
This vote will truly be a legacy vote for every senator involved and they will all have to ask themselves whether gutting health care and abortion access is the legacy they want to gift to their constituents with their votes.
In addition to the Democrats, key GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine will not be at the event. "I can get a better sense of it watching it," Collins told Bloomberg News, while Murkowski noted that the White House counsel's office hadn't solicited her input on the pick.
That's a good first round in this battle. Not only does Murkowski sound slightly dismissive but with red-state Democrats hanging together on this invitation, they made it easier for key Republicans to decline also.
P.S. GOP Sen. Rand Paul also declined but he’s bound to cave no matter what so… meh.