FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 22, 2020
Contact: Will Pregman, [email protected], 702.752.0656
LAS VEGAS, NV – Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee, with only Republican members present, voted unanimously to advance Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court to the floor of the U.S. Senate. Democratic members boycott the hearing, placing photos of people impacted by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in their seats. Today’s vote set Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell up to schedule for a confirmation vote early next week, mere days before the 2020 election.
Annette Magnus, Executive Director of Battle Born Progress, said:
“By taking this vote, Senator Lindsey Graham and the Senate Judiciary Republicans willfully ignored the majority of Americans who want the winner of the election to choose Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s replacement. It’s clear that their priority is hastily confirming a Supreme Court Justice who meets President Trump’s litmus tests of willingness to cast the deciding vote in striking down the ACA and overturning precedent in Roe v. Wade. While Judge Amy Coney Barrett spent much of last week evading questions about her personal views on these issues, her past writings make it very clear that healthcare coverage for over 370,000 Nevadans, as well as access to abortion and reporductive care, are under threat should she be ultimately confirmed. Her record on LGBTQI+ civil rights, gun violence prevention laws, and protecting voting rights also betrays a narrow-minded, elitist judicial philosophy not in the best interests of Nevadans.
We are still waiting on another COVID-19 relief package. But rather than do the hard work to benefit frontline workers in states like Nevada, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has once again prioritized his own legacy and accumulation of power over helping working families. It’s illegitimate and unprecedented that a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court is being rushed through just days before an election, and weeks before a hearing that will determine the future of the ACA. We thank Senators Catherine Cortez-Masto and Jacky Rosen for opposing this nominee and count on them to continue doing everything they can to protect our courts and our healthcare.”
SPOKESPEOPLE ARE AVAILABLE FOR COMMENT IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH
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