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Amy Coney Barrett, the nominee for the US Supreme Court, at an appointment in Washington
Photo: POOL / REUTERS
US President Donald Trump wants to reassign the Supreme Court before the presidential election on November 3rd.
The candidate Amy Coney Barrett is to be voted on Thursday in the Judiciary Committee of the US Senate.
Now the US Democrats have announced a boycott of the meeting.
The Democratic MPs in the committee said on Wednesday that they did not want to further legitimize the process that was pushed through by the Republicans.
The panel meeting is an intermediate step before the Senate vote on Barrett, expected next Monday.
A seat became vacant in the Supreme Court after the liberal justice icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg died of cancer in September at the age of 87.
According to Trump's will, the conservative judge Barrett is to succeed.
The judges in the Supreme Court are nominated by the President and appointed by the Senate.
Blockade of Democrats with little chance of success
But Barrett's personality causes controversy: With Barrett's appointment, the Republicans would expand their majority to six out of nine seats in the Supreme Court.
The Democrats around presidential candidate Joe Biden demand that only the winner of the election should decide on the Ginsburg successor.
Whoever sits in the Supreme Court repeatedly sets the course for American society.
The court often has the final say in controversial cases, including the right to abortion, health care and immigration policy.
It is unclear whether the blockade of the Democrats in the Justice Committee will be successful.
Of the 22 members on the committee, twelve are Republicans.
With their boycott, the Democrats could only hinder a vote on Barrett if someone from the Republican majority also stayed away from the meeting.
So far there has been no evidence of this.
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mrc / dpa
