Mitch McConnell Has Enough Votes to Confirm Supreme Court Nominee Amy Coney Barrett, Reports Say; Expects to Bring to Floor Oct. 23

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Judge Amy Coney Barrett has enough support to win Senate confirmation to the Supreme Court and he expects to bring her nomination to the floor on Oct. 23. Editorial credit: Christopher Halloran / Shutterstock.com, licensed.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Judge Amy Coney Barrett has enough support to win Senate confirmation to the Supreme Court and he expects to bring her nomination to the floor on Oct. 23. Editorial credit: Christopher Halloran / Shutterstock.com, licensed.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Republican Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said he has enough votes to confirm the nomination of conservative Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett, according to reports.

Barrett, 48, is President Trump’s pick to replace the recently-passed Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, with Senate Republicans determined to install her prior to Election Day next month. Three days of hearings have just concluded where Barrett was questioned on a variety of topics, after which the Republican-lead Senate Judiciary Committee scheduled an October 22 vote to advance her nomination to the full Senate.

McConnell has stated that he anticipates bringing her nomination to the Senate floor for a vote on October 23, stating that she has the backing of “at least 51 Republicans,” which is enough to secure the vote and confirm her nomination.

During her confirmation hearings, Barrett impressed many with her knowledge of the law and its history. However, she was also criticized for dodging questions on the potential repeal of the Affordable Care Act and abortion.

If confirmed on McConnell’s schedule, the process will have bestowed the title of Supreme Court Justice upon Barrett in a mere 30 days. Republicans have been criticized, however, for attempting to install a new member to the court so close to a presidential election, despite previously blocking President Barack Obama’s pick, Merrick Garland, a full nine months before the 2016 election, claiming at the time that it was “too close.”

Barrett, a protégé of the late conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, certainly has the credentials for the job, being an appellate court judge and Notre Dame Law School professor. If confirmed as expected, she will give the Supreme Court a 6-3 conservative majority, a fact that will potentially affect decisions handed down from the bench for years to come.

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