Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court nomination approved by Senate judiciary committee despite Democrat boycott
Amy Coney Barrett. (Getty)
Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court nomination has been approved by the Senate judiciary committee, paving the way for her to take a seat on the court as early as next week.
Democratic senators boycotted the session Thursday (October 22), incensed by the Republican party’s determination to confirm Barrett before the November 3 election in less than two weeks.
Their seats were instead filled by posters showing constituents who had been helped by the Affordable Care Act. Barrett’s inevitable confirmation poses a risk to the future of American healthcare, Democrats and advocates argue, with the would-be justice refusing to share her views on the ACA during an earlier Senate hearing.
Portraits of a people who rely on the Affordable Care Act are placed in the seats of Democratic Senators on the Judiciary Committee as they boycott the. (Getty)
Kamala Harris was among those to take part in the boycott.
Afterwards, she tweeted: “My Democratic Senate colleagues and I boycotted the Supreme Court nominee committee vote today.
“Let’s be clear: this nomination process is a sham and shows how Republicans will stop at nothing to strip health care from millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions.”
My Democratic Senate colleagues and I boycotted the Supreme Court nominee committee vote today. Let's be clear: this nomination process is a sham and shows how Republicans will stop at nothing to strip health care from millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) October 22, 2020
Amy Coney Barrett could be confirmed for the Supreme Court on Monday.
Similarly, the conservative Christian has been labelled a threat to marriage equality by LGBT+ groups, former presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg and James Obergefell and Rick Hodges — the two men who opposed each other in the landmark Supreme Court battle for marriage equality.
The Democrats’ protests was more statement than anything else, as Republicans had the numbers to advance Barrett without them.
There will now be a rare weekend session to prepare for a final confirmatory vote expected to be held on Monday (October 26).
If confirmed, as is thought likely, Barrett could take her seat the same day. No other Supreme Court justice has ever been confirmed so close to an election, something Buttigieg pointed out in a tweet.
“Remember that in 2016 they didn’t just vote against the president’s nominee — they refused to hold a hearing or a vote at all,” he wrote, a reference to Republican’s refusal to consider Barack Obama’s nominee Merrick Garland because it came eight months before the 2016 election.
Remember that in 2016 they didn’t just vote against the President’s nominee—they refused to hold a hearing or a vote at all.— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) October 22, 2020
Regardless of criticism, Republicans remained defiant.
Lindsey Graham, chairman of the committee, said: “Barrett deserves to be on the Supreme Court and she will be confirmed.”
