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WASHINGTON — PresidentTrump appeared to secure enoughsupport on Monday to fill the Su-preme Court seat left open by thedeath of Justice Ruth Bader Gins-burg, although Senate Republi-cans remained publicly undecidedif they would try to force throughhis nominee before the election orwait until after voters have de-cided whether to grant him a sec-ond term.

With key Republican senatorsagreeing to install a new justice atleast by year’s end, Mr. Trumpsaid he would announce his choicefor the seat by Friday or “proba-bly Saturday,” after memorialservices for Justice Ginsburg, andpressed his allies to vote beforethe election in what would be thefastest contested Supreme Courtconfirmation in modern history.

Such a timetable, however,would leave only 38 days for theSenate to act and, as a practicalmatter, even less time because it ishighly unlikely that Republicanswould want to vote in the last fewdays before an election in whichseveral of them face seriousthreats. Some senior Republicansenators were still expressingcaution about such an acceleratedtimetable even with the votesseemingly in hand.

The president was buoyed afterSenators Charles E. Grassley ofIowa and Cory Gardner of Col-orado, two of three remaining Re-publicans who might have op-posed filling the seat, announcedthat they would support movingahead with a nomination eventhough they refused to consider

SENATORS LINE UPTO AID PRESIDENTIN NOMINEE FIGHT

KEY LAWMAKERS AGREE

Pick to Replace GinsburgMay Be Made Public

This Weekend

By PETER BAKERand NICHOLAS FANDOS

A memorial for Justice RuthBader Ginsburg near the court.

MICHAEL A. MCCOY FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Continued on Page A19

Late Edition

VOL. CLXX . . . . No. 58,824 © 2020 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2020

When Senator Lindsey Grahamjoined a Republican blockade ofPresident Barack Obama’s Su-preme Court nominee in 2016, hewent out of his way to frame hisposition that a confirmation to thecourt should never be allowed inan election year as principled,apolitical and utterly permanent.

“I want you to use my wordsagainst me,” Mr. Graham saidthen, swearing that he would holdthe same stance even if it meantdenying a future Republican pres-ident the chance to confirm hischosen nominee.

But less than 24 hours after thathypothetical became a realitywith the death of Justice Ruth Ba-der Ginsburg on Friday, Mr. Gra-ham, now the chairman of the Ju-diciary Committee, made a com-plete and brazen reversal. Hepromised that he would push for-ward immediately to confirmPresident Trump’s pick — seem-ingly unbothered by the obviousconflict between his position fouryears ago and his stance now.

“I am certain if the shoe were onthe other foot,” Mr. Graham wroteMonday to Democrats on the judi-ciary panel, “you would do thesame.”

Just weeks before Election Day,the turnabout by Mr. Graham,whose panel will lead the confir-mation process for Mr. Trump,captures the broader flip-flop ofalmost the entire Senate Republi-can Conference, as dozens of sen-ators who held together in 2016 toprevent Mr. Obama from filling aSupreme Court seat now rush todeliver the current president hischoice to replace Justice Gins-burg.

For Mr. Graham, who is facing atougher-than-expected re-elec-tion contest in South Carolina, it isalso the latest stage in a remark-able political transformation,from conservative institutionalistand outspoken critic of Mr. Trumpto a loyal foot soldier for the presi-dent.

His switch has drawn bitter crit-icism from Mr. Graham’s politicalopponents, an ad attacking him ashypocritical and even protestsoutside his Capitol Hill home,where demonstrators with mega-phones and drums gathered Mon-day morning to demand he not be-gin the confirmation proceedings.

“He said, ‘Use my wordsagainst me!’” they chanted.

In South Carolina, Jaime Harri-son, the Democrat challengingMr. Graham, was quick to snap upthe senator’s 2016 invitation to usehis own statements against him.

Graham SeeksTo Justify Shift

On Court Vote

Backed Delay in 2016, but Now Urges Haste

By CATIE EDMONDSON

TODD HEISLER/THE NEW YORK TIMES

Mayor Bill de Blasio greeted pre-K students in Elmhurst, Queens, on Monday as New York City schools began to reopen. Page A7.Is That a Smile I Don’t See?

For much of 2020, Al Gross’sSenate campaign in Alaska hasproceeded as something of an af-terthought for most Democrats, adistant contest that was off the ra-dar in terms of determining con-trol of the U.S. Senate. After all,Mr. Gross is not even technicallyrunning as a Democrat, an affili-ation that might doom him in aconservative state.

But in the hours after JusticeRuth Bader Ginsburg’s death onFriday, Dr. Gross’s campaign as anindependent saw an infusion of at-tention and cash that could re-shape the race: Nearly $3 millionhas poured into his coffers —about as much total money as thecampaign had in the bank at theend of July.

“Within 15 minutes of the sadnews, you saw truly organicmovement,” said David Keith,who is managing Dr. Gross’s bid to

oust Senator Dan Sullivan, a Re-publican.

From Alaska to Maine to theCarolinas, Democratic strategistsworking on Senate campaigns de-scribed a spontaneous outpouringof donations the likes of whichthey had never seen, allowingDemocrats the financial freedomto broaden the map of pickup op-portunities, or press their finan-cial advantage in top battle-grounds already saturated withadvertising.

By Monday, Democratic con-tributors had given more than$150 million online through Act-Blue, the leading site for process-ing digital donations. ActBluebroke one record after another —its biggest hour in 16 years, itsbusiest day, its busiest weekend —after Justice Ginsburg’s death. Anestimated tens of millions of dol-

Influx of Donations to Democrats Reshapes Race to Control Senate

By SHANE GOLDMACHER and JEREMY W. PETERS

Last summer, Peter Gelb, thegeneral manager of the Metropoli-tan Opera, convened the execu-tive committee of the company’sboard to announce the end of oneof the highest-profile, messiestfeuds in the Met’s nearly 140-yearhistory. A bitter court battle hadconcluded between the company

and the conductor James Levine,who had shaped the Met’s artisticidentity for more than four dec-ades before his career was en-gulfed by allegations of sexual im-proprieties.

Mr. Gelb told the committeethat the resolution was advanta-geous to the Met. But the settle-ment, whose terms have not beenpublicly disclosed until now,called for the company and its in-surer to pay Mr. Levine $3.5 mil-

lion, according to two people fa-miliar with its terms.

The Met had fired Mr. Levine in2018 after an internal investiga-tion uncovered what the companycalled credible evidence of “sexu-

ally abusive and harassing con-duct toward vulnerable artists inthe early stages of their careers.”Rather than going quietly, Mr. Le-vine sued the company for breachof contract and defamation, seek-ing at least $5.8 million. The Metcountersued, revealing lurid de-tails of its investigation and claim-ing that Mr. Levine’s misconducthad violated his duties. It sought

Conductor Fired by Met Opera Received a $3.5 Million PayoutBy JAMES B. STEWARTand MICHAEL COOPER

Messy Misconduct CaseEnded in Settlement

Continued on Page A21

Just days after publishing sig-nificant new guidance on airbornetransmission of the coronavirus,the Centers for Disease Controland Prevention on Monday with-drew the advice, saying only thatit had been “posted in error” onthe agency’s website.

The rapid reversal promptedconsternation among scientistsand again called into question thecredibility of the world’s premierhealth agency, even as PresidentTrump and his senior health offi-cials have sought to undermineC.D.C. scientists.

The president faces an electionwhose outcome may turn on pub-lic perception of his handling ofthe coronavirus pandemic.

The turnabout arrived as thenumber of virus-related deaths inthe United States approached the200,000 mark. Tens of thousandsof new infections are reported ev-ery day, and experts fear a re-surgence as cooler weather ap-proaches and people spend moretime indoors.

The new document for the firsttime had acknowledged that thevirus spreads mainly by air, a dec-laration with urgent implicationsfor how people protect themselvesindoors and how ventilationshould be engineered in schools,offices, hospitals and other publicbuildings.

Experts with knowledge of theincident said on Monday that thelatest reversal appeared to be agenuine mistake in the agency’sscientific review process, ratherthan the result of political med-dling. Officials said the agencywould soon publish revised guid-ance.

C.D.C. AgainTaken to Task

On Guidance

By APOORVA MANDAVILLI

Continued on Page A6

PORTLAND, Ore. — TerranceMoses was watching protestersagainst police brutality marchdown his quiet residential streetone recent evening when some inthe group of a few hundred sud-denly stopped and started yelling.

Mr. Moses was initially not surewhat the protesters were upsetabout, but as he got closer, he sawit: His neighbors had an Americanflag on display.

“It went from a peaceful march,calling out the names, to all of asudden, bang, ‘How dare you flythe American flag?’” said Mr. Mo-ses, who is Black and runs a non-profit group in the Portland area.

“They said take it down. Theywouldn’t leave. They said they’regoing to come back and burn thehouse down.”

Mr. Moses and others blockedthe demonstrators and told themto leave.

“We don’t go around terrorizingfolks to try and force them to dosomething they don’t want to do,”said Mr. Moses, whose group pro-

vides support for local homelesspeople. “I’m a veteran. I’m forthese liberties.”

Nearly four months after thekilling of George Floyd by theMinneapolis police, some pro-testers are taking a more con-frontational — and personal — ap-proach. The marches in Portlandare increasingly moving to resi-dential and largely white neigh-borhoods, where demonstratorswith bullhorns shout for people tocome “out of your house and intothe street” and demonstrate theirsupport.

These more aggressive pro-tests target ordinary people goingabout their lives, especially those

Protesters Pressure Bystanders to Choose a SideBy NELLIE BOWLES

Continued on Page A20

Movement Divided byAggressive Approach

Outside Homes

OJ KOLOTI/GALLO IMAGES, VIA GETTY IMAGES

Mourning Nathaniel Julies, a teenager with Down syndrome who was killed by officers. Page A10.Police, Death and Race in South Africa

Continued on Page A19

Continued on Page A17

Aquariums are working to put deep-seacreatures on display. Above, a coronatejelly in a tank specially designed toprotect its fragile body. PAGE D1

SCIENCE TIMES D1-8

Up From the DepthsThis year’s version of the photographyfair has locations in all five boroughs,all outside for safe viewing. PAGE C1

ARTS C1-6

Photoville, in Outdoor LightingRestaurants are ordered to close early,but critics say the move will hurt thestruggling economy. PAGE A4

TRACKING AN OUTBREAK A4-7

Limits for Pubs in Britain

People who miss the travel experienceare rushing to board planes that take offand land in the same place. PAGE A6

Flocking to ‘Flights to Nowhere’At Sunday’s awards show, there weresome bits that fell flat and a few mo-ments of genuine poignancy. PAGE C1

Best and Worst of Emmys

The Justice Department listed NewYork, Seattle and Portland as cities thatmight lose federal funding for allegedlyfailing to control lawlessness. PAGE A20

NATIONAL A11-21

Trump Targets Liberal CitiesThe social network tried stopping thespread of the conspiracy theory andother extremist material. But QAnongroups are still thriving there. PAGE B1

BUSINESS B1-6

QAnon Outwits Facebook

A new book by one of the special coun-sel’s top deputies, Andrew Weissmann,is the first inside account of the investi-gation on Russian meddling. PAGE A12

Inside the Mueller Inquiry

With a scorn for science, PresidentTrump and many of his supporters areminimizing a tragedy that has killedalmost 200,000 Americans. PAGE A15

Denial and Defiance on Virus

The Raiders’ first home game in LasVegas culminated the league’s gradualacceptance of and growing links to legalsports wagering. PAGE B7

SPORTSTUESDAY B7-10

The N.F.L. Likes the Odds

Paul Krugman PAGE A22

EDITORIAL, OP-ED A22-23

Today, sunshine, not as cool, high 72.Tonight, mainly clear, not as cool,low 58. Tomorrow, mostly sunny, be-coming breezy, warmer, high 77.Weather map appears on Page B8.

$3.00