WASHINGTON • The Republican-led US Senate Judiciary Committee has approved President Donald Trump's nomination of Ms Amy Coney Barrett to a lifetime US Supreme Court seat, despite a Democratic boycott, clearing the way for a full Senate vote on her confirmation planned for next Monday.
By a 12-0 vote, the panel yesterday approved Ms Barrett, with all Republican members voting yes and the 10 committee Democrats boycotting the meeting after calling the confirmation process a sham.
With Mr Trump's fellow Republicans holding a 53-47 Senate majority, Ms Barrett's confirmation appears certain.
Judiciary Committee chairman Lindsey Graham said the Democratic boycott was "their choice", adding: "We're not going to allow them to take over the committee."
Mr Graham called the committee vote "a ground-breaking historic moment".
The empty seats for the Democratic committee members had posters placed on them for the meeting. The posters carried photographs of people whom the Democrats argue would be hurt if the Affordable Care Act healthcare law, also known as Obamacare, is struck down, as Mr Trump has sought in a case to be argued before the justices on Nov 10.
Ms Barrett has criticised previous rulings upholding Obamacare, but said during her confirmation hearings that she has no agenda to invalidate the measure.
The confirmation of Ms Barrett, a federal appeals court judge, would expand the top US judicial body's conservative majority to 6-3.
Democrats were incensed that Senate Republicans moved forward with the nomination so near an election after refusing in 2016 to allow the Chamber to act on a Supreme Court nomination by Mr Trump's Democratic predecessor, Mr Barack Obama, because it was an election year.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's plan for a confirmation vote next Monday would enable the Senate to confirm Ms Barrett before the Nov 3 election as Mr Trump has requested.
In announcing their boycott of yesterday's vote, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and Judiciary Committee Democrats said they "will not grant this process any further legitimacy by participating" in the committee's vote so near the election.
Mr Trump nominated Ms Barrett to succeed the late liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Ms Barrett is Mr Trump's third Supreme Court nominee as he moves it further to the right.
No nominee to the Supreme Court has ever been confirmed by the Senate this close to a presidential election.
A favourite of Christian conservatives, Ms Barrett frustrated Judiciary Committee Democrats during her confirmation hearing last week by sidestepping questions on abortion, presidential powers, climate change, voting rights, Obamacare and other issues.
The 48-year-old is a devout Catholic who personally opposes abortion.
Senate Republicans have made confirmation of Mr Trump's conservative judicial appointees a high priority. Mr Trump has said he believes the Supreme Court will decide the election's outcome and has made it clear that he wants Ms Barrett on the bench for any election-related cases.
Republicans are hoping that Ms Barrett's confirmation can give an election boost to incumbent senators in the party facing tough re-election fights, including Mr Graham in South Carolina and panel members Joni Ernst in Iowa and Thom Tillis in North Carolina.
In an interview with CBS programme 60 Minutes, Mr Trump's Democratic challenger Joe Biden said that if elected, he would create a bipartisan commission of constitutional scholars to look into judicial reforms, saying there could be various "alternatives" to consider besides expanding the Supreme Court.
Mr Biden said the judiciary is"getting out of whack".
REUTERS
