WASHINGTON, Sept 27, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – US President Donald Trump said
Sunday the Senate will “easily” confirm his Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney
Barrett before the election, despite furious Democratic opposition to his bid
to steer the court rightward for years to come.
Trump has nominated Barrett, a darling of conservatives for her religious
views, to replace the late liberal justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in a lifetime
seat on the top court, potentially impacting some of the most partisan issues
in America, from abortion to gun rights to health care.
His decision to push her nomination through just weeks before the tense and
potentially disputed November 3 election, in which polls show he is the
underdog, has galvanized Democrats, who are calling for the decision to be
made by the winner of the vote.
His election rival, Democrat Joe Biden, has led the charge.
“The Senate should not act on this vacancy until after the American people
select their next president and the next Congress,” Biden said Saturday, just
moments after Trump announced Barrett’s nomination.
But Trump expressed confidence Sunday in an interview with “Fox & Friends.”
“I think we’re going to have it done easily before the election,” he said.
“I think it would be nice to do. Get it out of the way,” he continued,
adding: “We have plenty of time.”
Barring a huge surprise, Republican senators, who have 53 out of 100 votes
in the upper house of Congress, are expected to confirm Barrett.
Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, has already announced
that a vote will be held “this year.”