<I also cannot imagine 11 months of blocking a SCOTUS nomination and leaving the court with 8 members.> But that's exactly what the Democrat-controlled Senate

<I also cannot imagine 11 months of blocking a SCOTUS nomination and leaving the court with 8 members.> But that's exactly what the Democrat-controlled Senate did after Justice Abe Fortas resigned in disgrace in 1969. They knocked down Nixon's first two nominees, and Fortas wasn't ultimately replaced by Blackmun until a year later[0][1][2]. [0] - Several Wikipedia pages say May 12, but: [1] - this one says May 17: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unsuccessful_nominations_to_the_Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unsuccessful_nominations_to_th... [2] - this page says June 9: http://supremecourthistory.org/timeline_blackmun.html http://supremecourthistory.org/timeline_blackmun.html