The Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, who was nominated by President Trump to fill the seat of the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, kicked off on Monday.
At the hearing, Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey offered his piercing take on the nomination process in a truly abnormal year. (His comments on this start at 9:06.)
"We're here because in the middle of a deadly pandemic, in the middle of an ongoing election, Senate Republicans have found a nominee in Judge Barrett who they know will do what they couldn't do: Subvert the will of the American people, and overturn the ACA [Affordable Care Act], and overturn Roe v. Wade," Booker said.
He alleged Senate Republicans were "desperately rushing" to complete the nomination process before the election. According to Booker, the rushed process would be "violating their own words, their own statements."
In the past, for instance, Senator Lindsey Graham has maintained that Supreme Court vacancies amid election years should stay vacant for the next president to fill.
Booker urged Senate Republicans to halt the confirmation process until after the election, warning, "otherwise this is a charade when they say this is a normal Judiciary Committee hearing for a Supreme Court nomination."
He continued: "Nothing about this today is normal. This is not normal. What is going on in America today in the midst of a deadly pandemic, in an ongoing election, having a rushed Supreme Court nomination hearing is not normal, and we cannot normalize it."
Topics Social Good Politics Supreme Court
