Statements on Amy Coney Barrett nomination

U.S. SENATOR BOB MENENDEZ

“The United States passed another grim milestone this week as the 200,000^th American died from the coronavirus. Tonight, across the country, families sit at their dinner tables wondering how they’re going to pay next month’s bills with too many facing eviction and foreclosure. State and local government coffers are running dry, and small businesses are shutting their doors – many for good.

“And while President Trump and Mitch McConnell won’t lift a finger to pull our nation out of this unprecedented, deadly crisis, tonight, they’ve made clear they’ll be working overtime — to ram through a Supreme Court nominee and fulfill their dream of killing the ACA. To them, this nominee puts them within reach of tearing health care coverage and protections for pre-existing conditions from millions of Americans.

“This is nothing less than a cynical power grab in the midst of an election in which they fear that the will of the American people can ultimately end their reign.  And this nominee is nothing more than a knowing pawn in their scheme.

“There is too much at stake, not only for important issues like health care, reproductive rights, worker and immigrant rights, voting rights and climate change, but also for the legitimacy of the Supreme Court and the strength of our democracy.

“The American people deserve – and rightly expect — a voice in this process.  They must speak up with their voices and their votes.”

U.S. SENATOR CORY BOOKER

“There is so much at stake in this moment. Hanging in the balance is the future of the Affordable Care Act and health coverage for millions of Americans in the middle of a pandemic; a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions, protected by Roe v. Wade; and the future of worker protections, voting rights, civil rights, clean air and water, and much more.

“When someone tells you who they are, believe them. President Trump pledged to only nominate justices to the Supreme Court who will overturn Roe v. Wade. He’s asked the Supreme Court to overturn the Affordable Care Act. He’s nominated justices who have put corporate interests over the interests of workers and consumers. With the Supreme Court set to hear arguments in November on the future of the ACA, Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination is being rushed through the Senate in time to strike it down.  Her record and her words make clear exactly what she will do on the court, and it’s unacceptable to me and the vast majority of the American people.

“After spending the better part of a year refusing to even hold a hearing on President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee because he was nominated in an election year, let alone vote on his confirmation, President Trump’s Senate allies are rushing this nominee forward while Americans are already voting in this November’s election. President Trump has repeatedly said he is counting on his nominee to vote in his favor in any election cases that might reach the Supreme Court later this year. That’s not the way democracy is supposed to work in America.

“The Supreme Court is facing a crisis of legitimacy, precipitated by the President’s and Senate Republicans’ pursuit of power at all costs. This crisis will be further deepened if they succeed in confirming a justice through this rushed, cynical, and partisan confirmation process.”

REP. TOM MALINOWSKI

“The President’s nomination of Amy Coney Barrett for the Supreme Court confirms what many have long feared: the Republican party is now fully and openly committed to kicking millions of Americans off their healthcare in the middle of a global pandemic, and to taking away a woman’s right to choose.”

“I believe, as do most Americans, that the president elected on November 3rd should choose Justice Ginsburg’s replacement, and that Senators should focus first on helping Americans suffering from the current economic crisis. But Republicans seem set on disregarding their own precedent by rushing this confirmation before the election.”

“And so it is up to us to spend the next five weeks fighting like hell for a Congress that will defend our rights. That means speaking with friends and family, making calls, and voting in record numbers. If this President and Senate will not, we must–and we will–elect leaders who advance the values and priorities of the vast majority of Americans.”