The Senate Judiciary Committee voted Thursday to advance Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court nomination to the full Senate as Republicans powered past Democrats' boycott of the session.
Read update: GOP-led Senate panel advances Barrett despite Dems' boycott
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AP: Senate GOP to push Barrett forward over Dem boycott of vote
Despite a Democratic boycott, Republicans are powering ahead to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court by Election Day with the Senate Judiciary Committee set to recommend President Donald Trump’s nominee to the full Senate.
Never before has the Senate confirmed a Supreme Court pick so close to a presidential election. Thursday’s Judiciary Committee vote is expected to launch a rare weekend Senate session to push Barrett’s nomination forward, as millions of Americans are casting early ballots.
Senate Democrats are planning to boycott Thursday’s meeting. But the Republican majority is prepared to vote swiftly, changing the panel’s rules if necessary, to ensure Trump’s choice to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is on track.
“Judge Barrett deserves a vote and she will receive a vote,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., the committee chairman, in a statement. “Barrett deserves to be on the Supreme Court and she will be confirmed.”
Trump’s Republican allies in the Senate are counting on the 48-year-old federal judge’s ascent to the high court to improve their standing with voters, as they lock a 6-3 conservative majority on the court for the foreseeable future. The court could open a new era of rulings on the Affordable Care Act, abortion access and even the results of the presidential election. A final Senate confirmation vote on Barrett is expected Monday.