Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said Tuesday that he would not meet with President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee who is set to meet senators on Capitol Hill.
In a tweet early Tuesday, Schumer indicated that he would not meet with Amy Coney Barrett, the conservative current 7th Circuit Court of Appeals judge who President Trump officially nominated on Saturday to the Supreme Court.
“Why would I meet with a nominee of such an illegitimate process and one who is determined to get rid of the Affordable Care Act?” Schumer said.
The comments come after Schumer previously said at a news conference over the weekend that he would not meet with Trump’s Supreme Court nominee who is poised to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg — a liberal icon whose recent death that coincided closely with the November presidential election sparked controversy about when to fill a vacant seat on the hight court.
The prominent Democrat said Sunday that he wouldn’t meet Barrett “because I believe, first, that the whole process has been illegitimate, and, second, because she has already stated that she is for overturning the ACA.”
Protecting health care amid the coronavirus pandemic has become a leading message in an effort made by Democrats to undermine Trump’s nomination of Barrett, who is expected to challenge the Obama-era policy. Just a week after the election, the Supreme Court will hear the latest challenge to the policy — which holds the health care of roughly 23 million people in the United States in the balance.
Schumer’s remarks were welcomed by Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal (CT), Kirsten Gillibrand (NY) and Mazie Hirono (HI), who have indicated they won’t meet one-on-one with Trump’s nominee. They signal a departure, however, from comments made by colleagues Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Cory Booker (D-NJ), who said Sunday that they were open to meeting with Barrett.
“If Judge Barrett’s views become law, hundreds of millions of Americans living w/pre-existing conditions would lose access to their health care. In the middle of a pandemic, rushing confirmation of an extreme jurist who will decimate health care is unconscionable,” Blumenthal tweeted Saturday. “I will refuse to treat this process as legitimate & will not meet with Judge Amy Coney Barrett.”
Gillibrand also called the process “illegitimate” in a tweet Sunday, writing, “I will not meet with Judge Amy Coney Barrett. This nomination process is illegitimate. I refuse to participate in the further degradation of our democracy and our judiciary.”
Good. Dems need to ghost the entire charade, and not give it a shred of legitimacy.
I mean, why bother? The Republican majority in the Senate announced they would fast-track the vote to confirm Trump’s nominee before they even knew who it was.
Yep that is the way to go. Republicans are going to ram her confirmation no matter what. Ignore Barret altogether and keep banging on ACA, specially on states with vulnerable senators. I don’t see Gardner or Tillis changing their vote but the polling is going to give them real heartburn, and will be begging the turtle to postpone the confirmation be held after the election.
On one hand, as Minority Leader you should do her the courtesy of arranging a meeting. On the other, the GOP has already pre-accused anyone who opposes her for any reason of anti-Catholic bigotry, so maybe better to conserve time and energy for other matters…
I would really like to see the Democrats not show up for hearings at all. The GOP is determined to shove this minority justice down our throats - we don’t show up and put any stamp of legitimacy on it at all.