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Spanish – President Donald Trump’s nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, is one step closer to becoming the youngest person in the history of the U.S. Supreme Court.
On Thursday, October 22, Barrett won by a 12-0 vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee with no Democratic support. The next step is a final confirmation vote on the Senate floor just a few days before the election.
Despite Democratic objections, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is expected to get a key procedural test vote on Sunday, and a final confirmation vote is expected on Monday, October 26.
“We did it,” Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham told fellow Republicans after the vote. “Judge Barrett is going to speak. I hope you will look back on this moment in committee and say, ‘I was there when it mattered.’ And you were.”
JUST IN: Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously votes on nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett, 12-0, as committee Democrats boycotted the roll call. https://t.co/N7iWPeQZnX pic.twitter.com/jSssZuTl5Y
— ABC News (@ABC) October 22, 2020
Her victory would end an era. For there would be a conservative majority, and she would replace the late feminist icon, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Barrett is the antithesis of Ginsburg: Catholic, pro-life, mother of 7 children, two of them adopted in Haiti, and the last one with Down syndrome.
On her deathbed, Ginsburg asked not to be replaced before the elections. But she was challenged.
Religious Persecution: Committee Democrats Boycott Vote
The Democrats on the committee boycotted the vote. As a symbolic act, they put up poster-sized photographs of Americans who, they said, would be harmed by Judge Barrett.
The Republican Party accuses the judge of religious persecution.
As a claim, Republican Senator McConnell issued a statement:
Our Constitution forbids disqualifying people from public service due to their religious beliefs. The far left has either forgotten this or just doesn’t care. It only underscores why we need well-informed jurists like Judge Barrett to protect our Constitution and Americans’ rights.
Our Constitution forbids disqualifying people from public service due to their religious beliefs. The far left has either forgotten this or just doesn’t care. It only underscores why we need well-informed jurists like Judge Barrett to protect our Constitution & Americans’ rights. pic.twitter.com/9iCPWs3V7P
— Leader McConnell (@LeaderMcConnell) October 21, 2020
“We have heard Democrats try to hold our own institutions of government hostage to stop this precedent-setting process, but none of the distortions could even begin to tarnish the nominee’s incredible qualifications,” McConnell said.
During the screening process, Senator Graham asked Barrett, “Can you put aside any Catholic beliefs you have regarding any issue before you?”
“I have done so in my time on the Seventh Circuit. If I stay there, I will continue to do so,” she responded. “If I am confirmed by the Supreme Court, I will continue to do so.”
And she is actually very close to doing so.
