Senate Dems Seek Delay in Amy Coney Barrett Hearings After Trump’s COVID Diagnosis

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) issued a joint statement Friday calling on Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) to hold off on moving forward with hearings on U.S. Supreme Court justice nominee Amy Coney Barrett, citing risks of spreading COVID-19 in light of President Donald Trump and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) testing positive for the virus.

Schumer and Feinstein — who have both been adamantly opposed to President Trump nominating a replacement for recently-deceased Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg ahead of the Nov. 3 election — wrote that it is “premature” for Graham “to commit to a hearing schedule when we do not know the full extent of potential exposure stemming from the president’s infection and before the White House puts in place a contact tracing plan to prevent further spread of the disease.”

The Democrats also stated that the “infection” of Lee, who also sits on the Judiciary Committee, “makes even more clear that health and safety must guide the schedule for all Senate activities, including hearings.” . . .

According to Schumer and Feinstein, virtual hearings on Barrett’s nomination would not be “an acceptable substitute” given the magnitude of deciding “a lifetime appointment to the federal bench.”

They argued that moving forward would turn “this already illegitimate process” into “a dangerous one.” (Read more from “Senate Dems Seek Delay in Amy Coney Barrett Hearings After Trump’s COVID Diagnosis” HERE)

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