Three Senate Democrats so far have announced that they will refuse a customary meeting with President Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, although Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D., Ill.) admitted on Sunday that Democrats would likely be unable to stop a confirmation.
Trump nominated Barrett to replace liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died on September 18 at age 87. Republicans are attempting to confirm Barrett before the November elections, and her prospective appointment would give the Supreme Court a 6-3 conservative majority.
Schumer said at a Sunday news conference that he would not meet with 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 [Affordable Care Act].”
Prior to Schumer’s statement, Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D., N.Y.), Richard Blumenthal (D., Conn.), both confirmed that they would not meet with the nominee. The senators warned that Barrett’s rulings would be unfavorable toward the ACA, and cited her pro-life stance as another reason for opposition.
“I will not meet with Judge Amy Coney Barrett,” Gillibrand wrote on Twitter on Sunday. “This nomination process is illegitimate. I refuse to participate in the further degradation of our democracy and our judiciary.” Blumenthal also wrote on Twitter, “I will refuse to treat this process as legitimate & will not meet with Judge Amy Coney Barrett.”
Senators Dick Durbin (D., Ill.), Maizie Hirono (D., Hawaii), and Tammy Duckworth (D., Ill.), have already announced that they will not vote to confirm Barrett, although those senators have not dismissed meeting with the nominee. However, Durbin, who is the Senate Minority Whip, admitted on Sunday that there was little Democrats could do to prevent Barrett’s confirmation.
“We can slow it down perhaps a matter of hours, maybe days at the most,” Durbin told host George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s This Week. “But we can’t stop the outcome.”
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