10.21.20

Durbin To Vote Against President Trump's Supreme Court Nomination Of Amy Coney Barrett

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today announced that he will vote against President Donald Trump’s nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court and will not participate in this Thursday’s Judiciary Committee markup due to Republicans’ repeated violations of the Committee’s rules in their haste to rush through this nomination:

“President Trump and Republicans are violating every tradition in the Senate to have Judge Amy Coney Barrett confirmed to the Supreme Court before two dates: Election Day, which is just 13 days away, and November 10, the day the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case where Republicans are seeking to strike down the Affordable Care Act. 

“Nothing that Judge Barrett said during her confirmation hearings allayed my concerns about the unprecedented nature of this nomination.  Judge Barrett refused to comment even on basic principles such as whether the President can unilaterally delay an election, whether there must be a peaceful transfer of power, and whether voter intimidation is unlawful.  Her repeated evasions leave a cloud hanging over her nomination.  So we have to turn to what President Trump has said and tweeted—he has made it clear that he wants his nominee to end the ACA, overturn Roe v. Wade, and resolve any election challenges in his favor. 

“And despite protests from Republicans, there is no precedent – none – for confirming a Supreme Court justice this late in a presidential election year, with more than 40 million ballots already cast. 

“Last week, Judiciary Committee Republicans broke the Committee’s rules, over my objection, in their power-hungry effort to advance this nomination before the hearing had even ended.  Their haste is a disgrace.  I refuse to legitimize tomorrow’s vote, which violates the Judiciary Committee’s longstanding rules.  That is why I will not participate in tomorrow’s markup.

“The future of the Affordable Care Act, the right to privacy and choice, the outcome of the election, and so many other important issues hang in the balance of this flawed process—voting rights, civil rights, environmental protections, gun safety laws, marriage equality, Dreamers, and worker protections.  These are the stakes.  They simply couldn’t be higher.

“That is why I will be voting against Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court on the Senate floor.”

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