Amy Coney Barrett: Full Senate to vote on Trump's Supreme Court nominee on Monday
WASHINGTON – The full Senate plans to vote on Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation to the Supreme Court on Monday, likely allowing Barrett to take her place as the ninth justice just days before Election Day.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell outlined a schedule at his weekly news conference Tuesday that would leave the Senate in session over the weekend to debate her confirmation before voting on Monday.
“We'll be voting to confirm justice-to-be Barrett next Monday,” the Kentucky Republican said. "And I think that will be another signature accomplishment in our effort to put on the courts, the federal courts, men and women who believe in a quaint notion that maybe the job of a judge is to actually follow the law.”
Barrett has sailed through the confirmation process. After four days of hearings and hours of questioning by senators last week, a vote on her nomination is set to be taken up by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday. The hearings were largely without controversy or drama as Barrett skirted around answering questions about contentious issues that could come before the court, allowing her to retain enough Republican support that is likely to lead to her confirmation.
Republicans hold majorities in both the Senate Judiciary Committee and the full Senate, making her confirmation likely since she needs just a majority vote in each body to ascend to the Supreme Court.
Two Republicans, Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, have voiced opposition to the Senate taking up Barrett’s nomination ahead of the election. But it's not enough to block Barrett from getting a majority of the votes in the 100-member chamber, where Republicans outnumber Democrats 53-47.
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McConnell plans to take up Barrett's confirmation on Friday, setting up two days of debate over the weekend and a final vote by the chamber on Monday – eight days before the election.
Monday's vote is unlikely to go without some drama as Democrats have promised to use every tool at their disposal to disrupt Barrett's confirmation. Democrats fear Barrett's confirmation to the court, which would then hold a 6-3 conservative majority, would have major implications for the nation's health care and abortion and voting rights.
"Because our Republican colleagues have made such a mockery of the Supreme Court confirmation process, we are not going to have business as usual in the Senate,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Monday before forcing votes on a series of maneuvers, even attempting multiple times to adjourn the Senate until after the election.
Democrats have lambasted Republicans for what they say is a rushed confirmation process so the GOP can place another conservative on the court before Election Day.
"This is the most rushed, most partisan, least legitimate Supreme Court nomination process in our nation's history – in our nation's entire history – and it should not proceed," Schumer added.
While Democrats are expected to try to slow the process down, they have acknowledged they cannot block what appears to be Barrett's inevitable confirmation to the high court.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Any Coney Barrett: Senate to vote Monday on Supreme Court nominee
