Washington D.C., Oct 22, 2020 / 07:35 am
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted on Thursday to advance the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, setting up a final confirmation vote by the whole Senate. Democratic members of the committee boycotted the vote and did not attend.
Barrett is a Catholic judge on the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. A mother of seven, she was formerly a law professor at the University of Notre Dame. If confirmed to the Supreme Court, she would be the sixth Catholic on the Court's bench.
Twelve Republicans on the committee voted on Thursday to report Barrett's nomination favorably to the entire Senate; the ten Democrats on the committee were "not present," having informed chairman Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) the night before that they would boycott the hearing, according to Graham.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said that a vote to confirm Barrett would take place on Oct. 26.