Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government by Susan Ferrechio, Chief Congressional Correspondent
Senate Republicans and Democrats faced off in a rare weekend session to debate the Supreme Court nomination of Amy Coney Barrett.
Senate Democrats, who unanimously oppose Barrett, objected to the session and tried to call up a series of Democratic bills, including a House coronavirus spending measure and the Violence Against Women Act, which they said should be the legislative priority.
“We meet here on a rare Saturday session because there’s nothing, nothing remotely normal about the Republican drive to confirm Judge Barrett, to the Supreme Court,” Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said.
Republicans plan to barrel ahead with Barrett’s confirmation. A key procedural vote is slated for Sunday, and lawmakers are expected to cast the final votes to confirm Barrett on Monday.
Republican leaders said Democrats can’t object to Barrett’s qualifications and are instead making a false claim that the confirmation process is illegitimate.
“It remains our duty to separate right from wrong, fact from fiction, for the good of the Senate and our nation,” Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, said on the Senate floor. “Judge Barrett’s confirmation process has followed every rule. It’s followed the Constitution in every respect. We have abided by the norms and traditions dictated by our history. And we’re going to vote tomorrow.”
Sunday’s vote will advance Barrett’s nomination toward a final confirmation vote on Monday night. The Senate will then likely gavel to a close until a post-election, “lame-duck” session.
Democrats, who are in the minority, have no ability to block Barrett from the Supreme Court despite intense pressure to do so from their liberal base. Democrats boycotted the Senate Judiciary Committee vote to advance Barrett’s nomination and yesterday stalled the floor with procedural votes and a closed-door session.
Democratic leaders repeatedly went to the floor Saturday to request the GOP to withdraw Barrett’s nomination and instead bring up the coronavirus spending bill, which was authored by House Democrats and has little to no backing from the GOP.
“During the most desperate, desperate of times, all we ask is the ability to debate something that really matters to the American people,” Schumer said, noting the recent rise in coronavirus cases.
Republicans objected to Schumer’s request to take up the House coronavirus aid package, noting Democrats rejected a more narrow GOP bill that provided $500 billion in aid. They also blocked motions by Democratic Minority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois to bring up the Violence Against Women Act and an election security bill.
“This request is another procedural move to just belabor the process,” Sen. Mike Braun, an Indiana Republican, said.