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Mr. McConnell did occasionally mention the divided government in 2016, but it was not his chief argument at the time and was frequently omitted from his remarks. Last October, when asked about the issue on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” he said, “What I did was entirely consistent with what the history of the Senate’s been in that situation going back to 1880.”

The last time a Republican-led Senate confirmed a nominee put forth by a Democratic president was 1895, when it confirmed Rufus W. Peckham after he was nominated by Grover Cleveland. Since then, Democratic-controlled Senates have approved 13 nominees by Republican presidents.

Before 2016, there had been just seven election-year confirmation battles since the beginning of the 20th century. In the most recent case, Anthony M. Kennedy, who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, was confirmed in 1988 by a Democratic Senate in a 97-to-0 vote after a grueling seven-month process.

The only time a Senate has failed to confirm a nominee in an election year was 1968, when the nomination of Abe Fortas was withdrawn. Both the Senate and the White House were controlled by Democrats at the time.

On the current court, two of the justices are in their 80s, and one of them, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 86, has suffered a series of health problems.

In Mr. McConnell’s remarks to the Paducah Chamber of Commerce, in his home state of Kentucky, he said that legislative accomplishments like tax reform could be undone by future administrations, but that Supreme Court confirmations could have a more lasting impact.

“What can’t be undone is a lifetime appointment to a young man or woman who believes in the quaint notion that the job of a judge is to follow the law,” he said. “That’s the most important thing we’ve done for the country, which cannot be undone.”