Lisa Murkowski, Republican Senator from Alaska, decided to
change her opinion
regarding the confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett, and announced that she
will
now
vote in favor
of her taking a position on the Supreme Court, something that is expected to be confirmed within the next week .
"I think the only way to get back on track to properly consider judicial nominees is to evaluate Judge Barrett how we would like to be judged: on the merits of her qualifications," Murkowski said during a special Senate session. this Saturday.
"And we do it when the final question comes before us.
And when it does, I will say yes
," Murkowski added.
Murkowski had initially said he was opposed to voting for the nomination before the November presidential election.
So did Susan Collins, a Republican senator from Maine, at the time.
"For weeks I have said that I would not support filling a vacancy on the Supreme Court so close to the election. Unfortunately, what was hypothetical then is now a reality, but
my position has not changed
," Murkowski said last September.
His change in position
nearly killed Democrats' hopes of convincing some moderate Republicans
to also oppose Barret's confirmation.
Meanwhile, Republicans are accelerating their desire to place Barrett on the Supreme Court and
seal a conservative majority on the court before the elections
.
[This is Amy Coney Barrett, nominated by Trump for the Supreme Court: she is in favor of the public charge rule and against abortion]
In this Saturday's session, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, defended his handling of the process.
"Our past debates have been heated, but there is
strangely little talk about Judge Barrett's actual credentials or qualifications,"
said McConnell, who said she was one of the most "impressive" nominees "for public office" in a generation. "
The fast-track confirmation process is unprecedented in American history, just days before the presidential election.
Democrats call it a "sham" and say the winner of the Nov. 3 election should name the candidate to fill the vacancy left by the late Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, senator from New York, warned Republicans that
the only way to remove the "blemish" from their action would be to "withdraw the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett until after the election
.
"
[Is the right to abortion in jeopardy with Justice Barrett on the Supreme Court? The majority of citizens support keeping it]
As the country suffers a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, Democrats are expected to force a series of votes on a new economic relief package throughout this Saturday.
Judge Barrett's controversial response to the case that legalized abortion
Oct. 14, 202002: 50
Barrett's confirmation would leave the country's highest court with a 6-3 conservative majority.
Senators will continue in session this Saturday and Sunday.
Barrett, 48, appeared publicly before the Senate Judiciary Committee as neutral on abortion cases, the Affordable Care Act and presidential power - issues that will soon face the court.
At one point he remembered, "It's not Amy's law."
[Justice Barrett's confirmation for the Supreme Court is not unconstitutional as Biden said]
But Barrett's earlier anti-abortion writings and an Obama-era health care law ruling
reveal a deeply conservative jurist
.
Trump declared this week that he expects the Supreme Court to repeal the health law when the justices accept the challenge on November 10, a week after the election.
The fast-track confirmation process is unprecedented in US history just days before the election.
Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, a senator from New York, called it the "least legitimate process in the history of the country."
Republicans responded that the process is not accelerating.
Sen. John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, called the loss tactics "frivolous."
Early in Trump's term, McConnell engineered a Senate rule change to allow confirmation by a majority of 100 senators, rather than the 60-vote threshold traditionally needed.
With a 53-47 Republican majority, Barrett's confirmation is almost certain.
[This senator tells the "painful" story of how abortion saved his wife's life]
Most Republicans support Barrett's confirmation.
Only Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine has said she won't vote for her this close to the presidential election.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, stated at first that she would rather not vote before the election.
But in a statement Thursday, Murkowski said that now that the process is moving forward, the decision to vote to confirm Barrett must be made individually by each senator.
Full Speech: Amy Coney Barrett Accepts Supreme Court Nomination
Sept.
26, 202008: 00
Republicans on the Judiciary Committee pushed for Barrett's nomination on Thursday even though Democrats boycotted the vote.
[Judge Barrett refuses to condemn the separation of migrant families at the border: "It is an intense political debate"]
Sen. Lindsey Graham, chair of the committee, acknowledged the partisan nature of the proceedings, but said he could not live with himself if the Senate did not confirm such an exceptional candidate.
Graham, R-South Carolina, said Barrett was a "role model" for conservative women
and for people with strong religious beliefs.
Democrats called the process "bogus" and claimed that Barrett would undo much of what liberal icon Ginsburg accomplished.
In trying to derail or at least delay Barrett's confirmation, Democrats argue that the winner of the presidential election should decide who replaces Ginsburg.
[President Trump attends Judge Ginsburg's tribute and is greeted with boos: "Get him out with the vote!"]
Barrett was a professor at Notre Dame Law School when Trump appointed her in 2017 to the opening of an appeals court.
Two Democrats joined at the time to confirm her, but neither is expected to vote for her in the next few days.
During the three days of testimony and subsequent presentations to the Senate committee, Barrett refused to answer basic questions for senators, such as whether the president can change the date of the federal election, which is set by law.
Instead, he vowed to accept cases as they were.
With information from AP.
