Amy Coney Barrett explains why she accepted Supreme Court nomination
SCOTUS nominee tells Sen. Thom Tillis that in order to protect freedom, ‘we need to participate in that work.’
President Trump on Friday said convincing Republican Sen. Susan Collins to vote in favor of his Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett is “not worth the work,” noting that the senator from Maine has not supported him on other issues in the past.
“There is a nasty rumor out there that @SenatorCollins of Maine will not be supporting our great United States Supreme Court nominee,” Trump tweeted Friday. “Well, she didn’t support Healthcare or my opening up 5000 square miles of Ocean to Maine, so why should this be any different.”
He added: “Not worth the work!”
The president’s comments come as Collins has maintained that she will not vote to confirm Barrett so close to the election.
“It’s no comment on her, it’s a comment on the process of rushing through a nomination in such a short time before a presidential election,” Collins has said.
Collins, 67, who has served in the Senate since 1997, is among a handful of Republican senators occasionally willing to break rank with her party.
Her crucial vote to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court in 2018 angered many progressive women across the country, who opposed his nomination because of sexual assault allegations. Many Mainers are determined to unseat her.
Collins is up for reelection on Nov. 3 and is in a tight battle, with polls showing her opponent, Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon, in the lead.
Meanwhile, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Ak., has not revealed how she will vote, though previously said she “would not support” the Senate taking up a potential Supreme Court nominee before the election.
ROMNEY SAYS HE WILL VOTE TO CONFIRM AMY CONEY BARRETT
Collins and Murkowski, as well as Senate Democrats, have objected to a confirmation so close to the election, citing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s refusal to consider President Barack Obama’s nominee Merrick Garland in 2016.
McConnell, R-Ky., has said that the present situation is different because the White House and the Senate are not held by opposing parties.
Republicans, though, appear to have the votes to move forward and confirm Barrett. Republicans have 53 votes in the Senate and can therefore afford three defections if no Democrat votes for the nominee. In that instance, Vice President Mike Pence would be called in to break a tie.
On Wednesday, Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney said he will vote to confirm Barrett to the Supreme Court, after being the lone Republican to vote to convict President Trump during the impeachment hearings.
GRAHAM SAYS ‘NOTHING UNCONSTITUTIONAL’ ABOUT AMY CONEY BARRETT CONFIRMATION DESPITE DEM ARGUMENTS
“After meeting with Judge Barrett and carefully reviewing her record and her testimony, I intend to vote in favor of her confirmation to the Supreme Court,” Romney said in a statement released Thursday. “She is impressive, and her distinguished legal and academic credentials make it clear that she is exceptionally well qualified to serve as our next Supreme Court justice.”
He added: “I am confident that she will faithfully apply the law and our Constitution, impartially and regardless of policy preferences.”
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