In a push to show they don’t support the Republican-controlled Senate’s effort to confirm Amy Coney Barrett as the newest Supreme Court justice before the election, Democrat lawmakers have deployed procedural options.
The Hill reports that the Democrats are limiting committee meetings and may even force votes. Their efforts may keep the Senate in Washington D.C. even as the election nears.
“Chuck is leading us in … considering procedural options. Some he announces in advance, some for obvious reasons he doesn’t, and I think he’s trying to make it clear that the process created by [Senate Majority Leader Mitch] McConnell for this nominee is such an outrage that the American people have to be reminded,” Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Senate Democrat, told The Hill.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said the Democrats are trying to buy time before the high court may become a 6-3 conservative majority.
“There are many of us who believe that they’re trying to ram this nominee through. ... So we feel like we need to extend this process,” he told The Hill. “So I would expect that we’ll use the tactics that we have.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has set a timetable for Barrett’s confirmation hearing. Democrat lawmakers say they are using procedural tools in an effort to slow the process down.
“Look we’re going to have to find our way through this. ...The caucus will work through these things one issue at a time. But there’s a lot of passion about using every procedural tool we’ve got to slow this down,” Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said about the possibility of forcing the Senate to stay in session after this week.
Last week the Democrats began using the “two-hour rule,” which prevents committees from meeting for longer than two hours. They also can’t meet after 2 p.m.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is also gearing up to hold a procedural vote on a bill that would block the Justice Department from arguing in courts that the Affordable Care Act should be struck down.
“Leader McConnell and all my Republican colleagues will have an opportunity to set the record straight with their vote,” Schumer said about the procedural vote.
Typically, only McConnell, who is majority leader, can set what bills come to the floor for debate and a vote.
“This is kind of in the category of pulling a fast one. And pretty uncharacteristic of the normal decorum in the Senate. ... Obviously they’re sore about the Supreme Court nomination and doing everything they can to retaliate,” the No. 2 GOP Sen. John Thune said.
According to The Hill, it is unclear if Democrats will keep lawmakers in session past this week. GOP leadership is preparing members for that scenario, which would keep those up for election off the campaign trail.
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