WA lawmakers oppose Trump SCOTUS nomination ‘in the strongest terms’
Sep 28, 2020, 11:00 AM
Washington Sen. Patty Murray. (Getty Images)
(Getty Images)
In the wake of President Trump nominating Indiana federal Judge Amy Coney Barrett to fill Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s vacant seat on the U.S. Supreme Court, Washington Democratic state lawmakers are speaking out against the move.
Barrett could be Ginsburg’s polar opposite on Supreme Court
Whether Barrett will end up filling that ninth seat on the Supreme Court will lie in the hands of the U.S. Senate, whose members have been divided on party lines over her nomination.
“I oppose this President’s Supreme Court nomination in the strongest terms, just like I’ve opposed his other nominees who want to overturn Roe v. Wade, dismantle affordable health care & eliminate (pre-existing) conditions protections, and roll back other hard-fought rights,” Washington Senator Patty Murray said.
It is already clear the American people see straight through President Trump and the Senate GOP's brazenly hypocritical rush to fill this seat as people are already casting their ballots in an election that’s just 38 days away.
— Senator Patty Murray (@PattyMurray) September 26, 2020
Fellow Washington Senator Maria Cantwell, who voted against Barrett’s confirmation to the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, has been similarly critical, emphasizing that with just over a month until the November election, “we should not rush this process.”
“I did not believe her judicial philosophy represented a jurist who would uphold the privacy rights and other rights guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution and in well-established legal precedents,” Cantwell said of her original vote against Barrett in 2017.
Barrett has described herself as similar to late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who was a staunch originalist when it came to interpreting the Constitution. Barrett served as a clerk for Scalia in the late 1990s, where she earned high praise from him.
“His judicial philosophy is mine too,” Barrett said in remarks delivered after the president announced her nomination.
A devout Roman Catholic, Barrett has yet to directly address her position on whether she would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade, a decision that would significantly roll back legal protections for abortion across the United States.
Despite that, Democrats have expressed concerns that she would side with a conservative majority on the court on a variety of long-fought political battles, from abortion to LBGTQ rights.
“Any SCOTUS nominee must be fully committed to protecting civil rights and voting rights, women’s rights and workers’ rights, reproductive rights and LGBTQ+ rights,” Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal said. “Not only does Amy Coney Barrett fail to meet that standard, but she has spent years dangerously arguing against it.”
Washington’s Congressional Republicans, though, have been effusive in their praise for Barrett, with Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers calling her “a great choice.”
A great choice! I applaud @POTUS for this decision to nominate Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. She's qualified and deeply respected for her great legal mind. I trust she will uphold the rule of law and defend the Constitution. https://t.co/OomQeMbMu9
— CathyMcMorrisRodgers (@cathymcmorris) September 26, 2020
