Utah Sen. Mitt Romney says he will vote on Trump's Supreme Court nominee if they reach the Senate floor

• Utah Sen. Mitt Romney announced on Tuesday that he planned to consider and vote for President Donald Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court.
• "The historical precedent of election year nominations is that the Senate generally does not confirm an opposing party's nominee but does confirm a nominee of its own," he said in a statement.
• "Accordingly, I intend to follow the Constitution and precedent in considering the president's nominee. If the nominee reaches the Senate floor, I intend to vote based upon their qualifications," Romney added.
• Romney's announcement dealt a fatal blow to Democrats' hopes of blocking Trump from filling Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's seat.

Utah Sen. Mitt Romney said on Tuesday that he intended to vote on President Donald Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court.

"My decision regarding a Supreme Court nomination is not the result of a subjective test of 'fairness' which, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder," Romney said in a statement. "It is based on the immutable fairness of following the law, which in this case is the constitution and precedent. The historical precedent of election year nominations is that the Senate generally does not confirm an opposing party's nominee but does confirm a nominee of its own."

He continued: "The Constitution gives the President the power to nominate and the Senate the authority to provide advice and consent on Supreme Court nominees. Accordingly, I intend to follow the Constitution and precedent in considering the president's nominee. If the nominee reaches the Senate floor, I intend to vote based upon their qualifications."

"My liberal friends over many decades have gotten very used to the idea of having a liberal court, but that's not written in the stars," the Utah Republican told reporters on Tuesday shortly after announcing his decision. He added that a court to the right of center was appropriate "for a nation that is, if you will, center-right."

Democrats have won the popular vote in four of the last five general elections. And in a recent Morning Consult poll, 37% of respondents said Trump should nominate a justice regardless of who wins the November election, while 50% said the winner of the election should nominate the next justice.

Romney was one of a handful of Senate Republicans who were viewed as potential swing votes who could block Trump's nominee to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died on Friday at age 87.

Romney's announcement dealt a fatal blow to Democrats' hopes of blocking Trump from filling the Supreme Court vacancy days before the general election.

Another potential swing vote, Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner, also announced this week that he would vote on Trump's nominee. Meanwhile, Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine both signaled that they would oppose voting on a Supreme Court nominee until after the election.

Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, the chairman of the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee, drew significant backlash this week when he said he would vote on Trump's nominee despite pledging in 2016 that he would not vote on a Supreme Court justice in an election year.

If "a vacancy occurs in the last year of the first term" of a Republican president, "you can say Lindsey Graham said let's let the next president, whoever it might be, make that nomination," Graham said in 2016. "I want you to use my words against me."

Over the weekend, Graham reversed his position, saying he would support Trump "in any effort to move forward" with filling Ginsburg's seat. He defended his decision on Monday, telling Democrats on the Judiciary Committee, "I am certain if the shoe were on the other foot you would do the same."

Trump tweeted on Tuesday that he would reveal his pick on Saturday.