Grassley Claims He Can't Hold SCOTUS Hearings Because It Would Be Expensive

The pathetic Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has put forward the most preposterous theory on why Merrick Garland could not be given a hearing for his nomination to the Supreme Court. Apparently Chuck says he could do it but that it would be too expensive. Grassley told the Des Moines Register, "Sure, sure. Umm, I suppose, the tradition is – and I’m not sure I would follow this tradition because I know who I have on my staff, I know how deep you have to go into going through a person’s record, in order to hold a hearing that’s worthwhile. And so you appropriate – you get special, not appropriations – you get ‘special’ from the rules committee; additional money to hire additional legal people. My staff tells me that’s about a half a million to $750,000 to hire people to maybe work for three or four months to do it." As Steve Benen points out "I think this is the first time I’ve heard such an argument: senators could to their job and meet the constitutional obligations, but the process is too expensive to bother."
It just seems that Republicans have ceased to understand their Constitutional responsibilities.

(h/t to Washington Monthly/Political Animal blog for this one)