WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Democratic senators continued pushing against the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court during the final day of confirmation hearings.
Barrett was not involved in the fourth and final day of hearings on Thursday but that didn’t stop some conversations from getting heated.
“The fight is not over, we gotta continue to raise our voice,” said Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ).
“This is a sham,” remarked Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).
Democrats accuse Republicans of previously vowing not to move forward with filling Supreme Court seats in an election year but Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) said he made no such promise.
“You just accused me of breaking my word,” he said.
“I can name some names—I think the record will confirm that the chairman made that commitment,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).
Democrats pointed to statements made by Sen. Lindsey Graham and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell when Republicans blocked the nomination of Merrick Garland in 2016.
“He said the American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court justice,” said Klobuchar.
Republican Utah Senator Mike Lee defended both the process and Judge Barrett.
“Certainly there is nothing about this nominee that can be left as suggesting anything other than she is an incredibly gifted jurist,” Lee said.
But Democratic Illinois Senator Dick Durbin said he didn’t learn much about Barrett’s positions.
“I would be afraid to ask her about the presence of gravity on Earth—she may decline to answer because it may come up in a case,” he said.