Congress just needs to do their damn job

Folks in Montana are a hard-working bunch — nothing keeps them from doing their job.

Congress could learn a thing or two from Montanans’ work ethic, and that is truer today than it has ever been before.

Last week Judge Merrick Garland was nominated to fill the open vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Constitution is clear: it’s the President’s job to nominate a Supreme Court justice, and it’s the Senate’s job to give that nominee an up or down vote.

Unfortunately, some Senators are refusing to even hold a hearing on the matter. And even worse — some folks in the Senate just won’t meet with Judge Garland at all.

Voting on a Supreme Court nominee is not a choice, it is a Constitutional responsibility.

If the Senate doesn’t think the President’s nominee is qualified, then we can vote not to confirm them. 

But folks can’t hold an entire branch of government hostage just because it’s an election year.

That’s not what happened during the last year of the Reagan Administration, when the Senate confirmed Justice Kennedy by a vote of 97-0. 

In the coming weeks, I will meet with Judge Garland face-to-face and ask him tough questions about protecting the Second Amendment, upholding the Constitution and recognizing states’ rights.

It is during these face-to-face meetings and public hearings that we find out if a judicial nominee is fit to serve on the nation’s highest court.

Refusing to meet with a Supreme Court nominee is refusing to uphold the Constitution.

It is not what our founding fathers envisioned, and it is not fair to the American people.

Folks expect their representatives in Congress to show up every day and do their jobs, just like hard-working families they represent do.

In any other profession if someone refused to do their job, they’d be fired. 

Congress must put aside the politics, forget about the upcoming election, and do what is best for the families they represent. 

Or just simply put, folks in Congress must do their damn job.

Jon Tester is a United States Senator, representing Montana