Trump, Republicans Urge Democrats to Handle Barrett Nomination With Respect

Seventh U.S. Circuit Court Judge Amy Coney Barrett's family and First Lady Melania Trump watch during Barrett's Supreme Court nomination ceremony, at the White House in Washington on Sept. 26, 2020. Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

President Donald Trump and Republicans urged the Democrats to handle Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination with respect.

Trump made the remarks on Saturday during a speech nominating Barrett as a U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) justice in the Rose Garden.

“I further urge all members of the other side of the aisle to provide Judge Barrett with a respectful and dignified hearing that she deserves,” he said.

“I urge lawmakers and members of the media to refrain from personal or partisan attacks,” he added.

Barrett, 48, a devout Catholic, serves as a circuit judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, a position the Senate confirmed her to in 2017. She previously worked as a law clerk to late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

She is also a mother of seven and would be the youngest justice on the current court if confirmed.

She will fill the vacancy left by late justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg who died on Sept. 18 from cancer complications.

However, the president is confident that the nomination process will be smooth.

“I know you’re gonna have a busy couple of weeks,” he told all Senators who attended the nomination ceremony in the White House. “But I think it’s going to be easier than you might think.”

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Judge Amy Coney Barrett reacts as President Donald Trump nominates her to the Supreme Court, in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington on Sept. 26, 2020. Carlos Barria/Reuters

Barrett was confirmed by the Senate in 2017 with bi-partisan support. Three Democratic Senators joined the whole Republican caucus and voted for her confirmation.

However, Barrett avoided most of the questions about her attitude toward Supreme Court precedent rulings during the 2017 nomination and said she, as a nominee of a circuit court judge, will just follow Supreme Court precedent rulings.

The Republicans applauded Trump’s nomination right after the announcement.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, committed to ensuring the nomination hearing to be “challenging, fair, and respectful.”

“We move forward on this nomination knowing that the president has picked a highly qualified individual who will serve our nation well on the highest court in the land,” he said in a statement.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) praised Barrett as “an exceedingly well-qualified nominee” to the Supreme Court.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a top Republican, also urged his Democratic colleagues to move forward the nomination with respect and civility.

“Americans, the nominee, and this committee do not deserve a repeat of the shenanigans on display from the left that we saw in 2018,” he said.

Grassley was referring to the tense process of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination.

Barrett’s confirmation would make America’s highest court lean further conservative with a 6-3 majority.

The White House and Republicans want to have a speedy nomination process to confirm Barrett before election day. Meanwhile, Democrats insisted the voting should happen after the Election worrying that several critical issues including abortion, Second Amendment rights, and Obamacare—some of which are already in the Supreme Court or may end up there soon—will be ruled in alignment with conservatives. A few Democrats floated the idea to add more SCOTUS justices to dilute the conservative majority.

In this July 8, 2019, file photo, Sen. Joe Manchin, (D-W.Va.), speaks at a roundtable on the opioid epidemic at Cabell-Huntington Health Center in Huntington, West Virginia. Andrew Harnik/AP Photo, File

Some Democrats declared that they will vote against the nomination right after Trump’s announcement.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who voted for Barrett in 2017, said he will not vote to confirm her to America’s highest court.

“I will not vote to confirm Judge Coney Barrett or any Supreme Court nominee before Election Day on November 3rd,” he wrote in a statement.

Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) voiced his opinion against Trump’s nominee saying it should be done after the November election.

“As I have said before, I do not support the Senate moving forward on a Supreme Court nomination until after Inauguration Day,” he said in a statement. “I will vote against confirming Judge Amy Coney Barrett to a lifetime appointment on our nation’s highest court.”