Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination process has evolved at an unusual speed. (File)
Washington:
A divided US Senate narrowly pushed President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court candidate Amy Coney Barrett forward on Sunday, preparing for her controversial but near-certain final confirmation on Monday, just eight days before the presidential election.
In a rare weekend session, the Senate Republican majority overcame a Democrat filibuster, and Barrett’s nomination crossed a procedural hurdle, 51 to 48, to limit debate on Trump’s nominee .
Barrett’s nomination process, which would essentially lock in a Conservative 6-to-3 majority in the high court, has evolved at unusual speed.
Trump, who lags in the polls against Democratic challenger Joe Biden, has said he wants Barrett, 48, confirmed ahead of the Nov. 3 election and in place in case the court has to hear a related challenge in the elections.
Two Republican senators, Susan Collins, who faces an uphill battle for re-election in Maine, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, have voted against moving forward after coming out in recent weeks against the confirmation of a justice so close to a presidential election.
But during a turnaround on Saturday, Murkowski told her colleagues that even if she opposed her Republican colleagues’ rush to fill the seat left vacant by liberal icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg, she would ultimately vote to confirm Barrett, since there was no chance to block the process. .
“Frankly,” she said, “I lost this procedural fight.”
Murkowski added that while she “opposes” the extremely swift process that led to Barrett’s appointment, she “doesn’t blame him as an individual” and will vote for his confirmation.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell prioritized the confirmation process over all other Senate business, including a new bill aimed at relieving millions of Americans, as well as businesses and of local authorities hard hit by the coronavirus.
Democrats have warned Barrett will eventually vote to dump Obamacare, which has helped millions of Americans get health insurance, and possibly overturn Roe v Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling protecting the right to abortion.
Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the Senate, on Sunday called the pressure to uphold justice so close to an election a “parody” and “an indelible stain on this Republican majority forever.”
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
