The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously voted to send Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court confirmation to the Senate floor for a vote on Thursday.
The Democrat members of the committee boycotted and abstained from the vote, signifying a partisan endeavor to prevent the confirmation of President Donald Trump’s third Supreme Court nomination.
JUST IN: Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously votes on nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett, 12-0, as committee Democrats boycotted the roll call. https://t.co/N7iWPeQZnX pic.twitter.com/jSssZuTl5Y
— ABC News (@ABC) October 22, 2020
Trump celebrated the unanimous vote on Twitter saying that it is a “big day for America!”
“Judiciary Committee approves Judge Barrett. Moves to full Senate for final vote. Big day for America!”
Judiciary Committee approves Judge Barrett. Moves to full Senate for final vote. Big day for America!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 22, 2020
Trump nominated Barrett in late September as a replacement for former Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg following her passing due to metastatic pancreatic cancer.
Barrett previously served as circuit judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
While many Democrats opposed the nomination, claiming that it was hypocritical for the GOP to confirm a nominee so close to an election, Senate Republicans pressed forward, holding Senate Judiciary hearings all throughout last week.
During the hearings, Democrat Senators attempted to attack Barrett, targeting her with questions about her supposed views on the Affordable Care Act, the Obergefell gay marriage case, as well as Roe v. Wade.
Barrett, however, showcased her tenacity and judicial qualifications well, denying to answer any hypothetical questions on how she would rule in a specific case and recalling Supreme Court case history from memory, without using any notes.
The last unanimous vote by the Senate Judiciary Committee was in 1994 for Stephen Breyer. Before Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Anthony Kennedy also received unanimous votes from the committee and were later confirmed to their associate justice positions by the Senate.
