Democratic California Sen. Dianne Feinstein and a group of Democrats on Thursday formally asked Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham to delay the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, according to Fox News.
“The timeline for consideration of Judge Barrett’s nomination is incompatible with the Senate’s constitutional role,” Feinstein said in the letter, Fox News reported. “We again urge you to delay consideration of this nomination until after the presidential inauguration. The Senate and the American public deserve a deliberative, thorough process, and this falls far short.”
Meanwhile, Republican Utah Sen. Mitt Romney said he would support a floor vote on President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, giving Senate Republicans enough votes to move forward.
Only two Republican senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, have asked for the party to wait until after the election for a vote on a new nominee following the death of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Judge Amy Coney Barrett speaks after being nominated to the US Supreme Court by President Donald Trump in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC on September 26, 2020. (Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)
A number of Democratic senators have reportedly criticized Feinstein, saying she is not the right person to serve as the top Democrat on the Judiciary panel for the Supreme Court nomination hearings. (RELATED: ‘She Can’t Pull This Off’ — A Number Of Democratic Senators Slam Feinstein Ahead Of Supreme Court Nomination Hearings)
The Democratic senators spoke on the condition of anonymity and heavily criticized Feinstein in an interview with Politico, allegedly saying she will hurt Democrats during the Judiciary panel for the next Supreme Court nominee. One of the senators reportedly said there is no way Feinstein could pull off leading the hearings for Democrats.
Feinstein is responsible for leading the hearings for the Democrats and responded to the criticism.
“Let me say this — I know it’s going to be a fight, I understand that,” Feinstein continued. “I don’t have a lot of tools to use, but I’m going to use what I have. We can try to delay and obstruct but they can run this process through. That doesn’t mean that we won’t fight tooth and nail.”
