Democrats took the Senate floor overnight Sunday to protest Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court, warning that Americans are facing “life or death stakes.”
“Senate Democrats are taking over the floor all night to fight this sham process by Senate Republicans. We will not stop fighting,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced Sunday night.
“Yes, we fight to the end. No hyperbole – it’s life or death stakes,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) said, adding that he and Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) were taking the “graveyard shift overnight on the Senate floor”:
Yes, we fight to the end. No hyperbole – it’s life or death stakes.@brianschatz and I have the graveyard shift overnight on the Senate floor. If you’re up between 2 and 5 a.m. tune in. https://t.co/ENNs9ORT6q
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) October 26, 2020
The Republican-led Senate approved a cloture motion over the weekend to cut off debate, limiting it to 30 hours. Both GOP Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) voted against the motion, though Murkowski said she would approve of Barrett’s nomination in the final vote slated for Monday evening.
Several Democrats issued stark warnings on the floor, echoing the minority leader’s words. Sen Jack Reed (D-RI) said Republicans will inflict “lasting damage to both this institution and the Supreme Court” by confirming Barrett, while Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) accused the GOP of committing an “obscene power grab.”
Schatz used his time on the floor to criticize the way McConnell runs the Senate — particularly his prioritization of judges.
“It’s like a joke here,” the Democrat lawmaker said.
“His priority is judges. His priority is always judges,” he said of McConnell, adding that there is “no legislating going on.”
“That’s become the way this place operates. … “We’re just like a little factory that approves federal judges, and that’s how Mitch McConnell wants it,” he added:
“It’s like a joke here,” says @brianschatz about the way McConnell is running the Senate. “No legislating is going on. We’re just a little factory that approves federal judges.” pic.twitter.com/jCAstA4gU1
— Katie Cooper (@thekatiecoop) October 26, 2020
However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has not wavered, telling his colleagues that the Senate is “doing the right thing.”
“We’re moving this nomination forward. By tomorrow night, we’ll have a new member of the United States Supreme Court,” he said Sunday.
The Senate is expected to confirm Barrett Monday evening. Meanwhile, Democrats do not believe Vice President Mike Pence should preside over the vote because of multiple aides testing positive for the Chinese coronavirus, including Pence’s chief of staff, Marc Short:
Vice President Pence cannot come to the Senate because of his exposure to multiple COVID-positive staffers. His purely ceremonial and non-essential presence would just put Senators, staff, and Capitol workers at risk.
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) October 26, 2020
Pence's decision to come to Senate today, when he should be quarantining, puts people at risk – mostly the staff on the dais who cannot socially distance from him.
But it's also another clear message from the White House for Americans to ignore CDC guidance. That's lethal.
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) October 26, 2020
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