Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham laughed about the possibility that Democratic senators may choose to boycott confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, saying it would only make the process “quicker.”
Democratic Sens. Chris Coons of Delaware and Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, signaled to Newsweek that they may boycott the October hearings as an act of political retribution against Republicans they accuse of rushing the process before the election.
During a Saturday night appearance on Fox News’ “Justice with Jeanine Pirro,” host Jeanine Pirro asked Graham about the possibility.
“Well, it would make them quicker!” said Graham, laughing.
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“We’re gonna have hearings,” Graham continued. “Half of the Supreme Court nominations have had hearings within 16 days. Over half. Justice Burger was confirmed in 17 days, John Paul Stevens 19 days. So there’s nothing unusual about the time period.”
Graham went on to predict that Democrats “will show up” to “challenge Judge Barrett about the law and ask her questions about her faith and does it influence her decision-making.”
“The Constitution guarantees that your religious preference cannot be used against you if you are chosen for a job like this, so I expect those three things to fall in place and I expect her to be confirmed,” he said.
Earlier in the segment, Pirro asked the South Carolina senator if things “will be as bad as they were” during Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s contentious 2018 confirmation hearings.
“Number one, the nominee will be challenged and that’s appropriate to challenge the nominee,” Graham said. “But if they treat Judge Barrett like they did Kavanaugh that’s gonna blow up in their face big time. Why is it that conservatives get treated this badly? Clarence Thomas, Judge Bork, Alito, Kavanaugh, if they continue this pattern to demean this outstanding nominee I think the American people will push back and push back hard. Kavanaugh really did help Republicans pick up Senate seats because they went too far.” (RELATED: Ben Sasse Predicts Democrats Will ‘Throw Crap At The Wall, See What Sticks’ To Try And Discredit Supreme Court Nominee)
Graham said he hoped to get Barrett “out of the committee by the 26th of October.”