September 26, 2020

Duckworth Statement Following Trump’s Announcement of his Nominee for the Supreme Court

 

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] — U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) released the following statement after Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Amy Coney Barrett for the Supreme Court.

“With barely a month before Election Day, Americans across the country are already casting their ballots to select our next President, the majority of whom think the person elected on November 3rd should select the next Supreme Court nominee. The deadly COVID-19 pandemic has killed more than 200,000 Americans in a matter of months. Yet, instead of addressing the many life-and-death issues facing working families during COVID-19, Trump and the Senate Republicans are focused on jamming through this nomination in a transparent grab for power so they can achieve their long-sought goal of repealing the Affordable Care Act and ripping away healthcare from millions – including every COVID-19 survivor who now has a pre-existing condition.

“The stakes could not be higher: if Republicans insist on confirming Judge Barrett, the Court could roll back women’s reproductive rights, greenlight more dark money in politics, jeopardize voting rights and civil rights for Black and brown communities and knock down any progress on climate action. I voted against confirming Amy Coney Barrett to sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit because she failed to demonstrate the capability or willingness to serve as an impartial, fair and independent jurist. Judge Barrett was not fit to be a Circuit Judge in 2017 and she is the wrong choice for a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court today. Once again, she will not have my support.”

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