Washington D.C., Oct 15, 2020 / 10:00 am
The Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on advancing Judge Amy Coney Barrett's nomination to the Supreme Court on October 22, Sen. Lindsay Graham announced on Thursday, after three days of hearings with Barrett.
"I will now make a motion to vote on the motion to report from the Committee the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to be associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States on October the 22nd, 2020, at one o'clock," said Graham, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The announcement came despite protests from Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), who argued that the vote should be delayed further as there were not two members of the minority party present at the time. The Democrats, who are the minority party in the Senate, have the power to hold the vote over for one week's time.
Senate Democrats, including vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris, have argued that the process to confirm Barrett is "illegitimate" because of its proximity to the general election next month. Republicans, led by Graham, have insisted that proceeding with the confirmation is in line with the constitution and that Barrett is singularly well-qualified to serve on the Supreme Court.