Tuesday 27 October 2020

AOC and Ilhan Omar immediately call to 'expand the court' and Nancy accuses the GOP of 'supreme desperation' as Democrats go into meltdown over ACB's confirmation

 Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar on Monday tweeted  'expand the court' just moments after Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed by the Senate. 

Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez added: 'Republicans do this because they don't believe Dems have the stones to play hardball like they do. And for a long time they've been correct. But do not let them bully the public into thinking their bulldozing is normal but a response isn't. There is a legal process for expansion.' 

Her initial tweet was reposted by fellow squad member Rep. Ilhan Omar, who also wrote: 'Expand the court.' 

Barrett was confirmed to the Supreme Court Monday evening by the Senate in a 52-48 vote - with Republican Susan Collins crossing the aisle to vote against her. Some on the left have already floated the idea of packing the court - adding seats to the Supreme Court - in the wake of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said: 'Should we expand the court, lets take a look and see.' 

She tweeted Monday: 'President Trump and Senate Republicans have committed an act of supreme desperation: jamming through a Supreme Court nominee just eight days before Election Day as part of their years-long campaign to destroy Americans’ health care.' 

Pelosi added in a statement: 'The President’s Supreme Court manipulation threatens the very values and rights that define and distinguish our nation.' 

Joe Biden said: 'The rushed and unprecedented confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett as Associate Justice to the Supreme Court, in the middle of an ongoing election, should be a stark reminder to every American that your vote matters.' 

Donald Trump's third nominee was not in the chamber to watch the roll call vote, which allows her to join the eight justices on Tuesday morning, and potentially to decide on cases about voting before the November 3 election. 

She was later sworn in as a Supreme Court justice on the White House South Lawn in front of Trump by Clarence Thomas. 

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, pictured voting, on Monday tweeted 'expand the court' just moments after Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed by the Senate
Her initial tweet was reposted by fellow squad member Rep. Ilhan Omar, pictured

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, left, on Monday tweeted 'expand the court' just moments after Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed by the Senate. Rep. Ilhan Omar, right, retweeted her 

The congresswoman added: 'There is a legal process for expansion'

The congresswoman added: 'There is a legal process for expansion'

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also tweeted Monday, calling it an act of 'supreme desperation'

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also tweeted Monday, calling it an act of 'supreme desperation'

AOC's initial tweet was reposted by fellow squad member Rep. Ilhan Omar

AOC's initial tweet was reposted by fellow squad member Rep. Ilhan Omar

Faced with the prospect of a decades-long conservative majority on the court following Ginsburg’s death, the idea of adding seats to the nine-person court has gained renewed traction among Democrats. 

Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris labeled the confirmation 'illegitimate', saying Monday: 'Today Republicans denied the will of the American people by confirming a Supreme Court justice through an illegitimate process — all in their effort to gut the Affordable Care Act and strip health care from millions with pre-existing conditions.

'We won't forget this.' 

She later tweeted: 'Instead of working to provide COVID-19 relief to struggling Americans, Mitch McConnell and Republicans chose to jam through a Supreme Court nominee—when more than 62 million people have already voted. It’s despicable and they must be held accountable.'  


Barrett was confirmed to the Supreme Court Monday evening by the Senate in a 52-48 vote - with Republican Susan Collins crossing the aisle to vote against her. Donald Trump's third nominee was not in the chamber to watch the roll call vote

Senator Mazie Hirono on Monday told the Senate 'hell no' and gave a thumbs down as she cast her vote in Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation to the Supreme Court

Senator Mazie Hirono on Monday told the Senate 'hell no' and gave a thumbs down as she cast her vote in Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation to the Supreme Court

'Hell no.' Marie Hizono gives her vote at Barrett confirmation
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Senator Mazie Hirono told the Senate 'hell no' and gave a thumbs down as she cast her vote.  The Democrat from Hawaii then walked off the floor as the roll call of the vote continued to be read out. 

She had said last month that she would not support the nomination of Coney Barrett in a lengthy tweet thread outlining her reasons. 

Squad member Rep. Rashida Tlaib added: 'We are going to take back the White House & Senate next week with a resounding mandate from the people to fight back against Trump’s illegitimately stacked judiciary. 

'We must expand the Court if we’re serious about the transformational change the people are crying out for.' 

Fellow squad member Ayanna Pressley added: 'We reject this injustice. We will fight for our rights. We will legislate our values.'

Democratic leader Chuck Schumer also scorned the process which saw Coney Barrett confirmed on the eve of an election when McConnell had stopped even a hearing for Merrick Garland, Barack Obama's nominee, in 2016.

'You may win this vote. And Amy Coney Barrett may become the next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. But you will never, ever, get your credibility back,' he said to Republicans on the Senate floor.  

Hillary Clinton tweeted: 'Senate Republicans just pushed through a Supreme Court justice who will help them take away Americans' health care in the middle of a pandemic. For them, this is victory. Vote them out.' 

Senate president pro tempore Chuck Grassley declared her confirmation at 8.06pm to applause from fellow Republicans; outside the Supreme Court conservatives chanted Coney Barrett's name as soon as she was confirmed.

Her confirmation transforms the court to a 6-3 conservative majority and comes after fierce opposition from Democrats, whose presidential nominee Joe Biden has resisted pressure to promise to pack the court if he wins - but who says he will order a commission on reforming the high court.   

Trump praised Coney Barrett's 'towering intellect,' and 'impeccable credentials,' as he spoke with the new justice on his right and Thomas on his left.

After Thomas swore her in Coney Barrett thanks the senators who voted for her and said: 'I pledge to you and to the American people that I will discharge my duties to the best of my ability.'

And in an acknowledgement of her highly-controversial confirmation process and the focus on her conservative Catholic beliefs and open espousal of pro-life beliefs while she was an academic, she said: 'I will do my job my without any fear or favor and that I will do so independently of both the political branches and my personal preferences.'  

Donald and Melania Trump posed with Amy Coney Barrett and Jesse Barrett on the Blue Room balcony of the White House after she was sworn in as the ninth Supreme Court justice

Donald and Melania Trump posed with Amy Coney Barrett and Jesse Barrett on the Blue Room balcony of the White House after she was sworn in as the ninth Supreme Court justice

The White House was draped in giant flags for the swearing-in of Amy Coney Barrett (left) by Clarence Thomas (right)

The White House was draped in giant flags for the swearing-in of Amy Coney Barrett (left) by Clarence Thomas (right)

She is the only justice confirmed with a law degree from 'any school not named Harvard or Yale.' 

Barrett, a 48-year-old appellate judge for the 7th circuit, is a staunch Roman Catholic and life-long conservative. Her personal pro-life views have raised eyebrows among progressives who claim she will dismantle a woman's right to an abortion by working to overturn Roe v. Wade.

She is a member of People of Praise, a small and ultra-conservative charismatic group whose members speak in tongues.

Republicans had painted questions over her faith as an attack on Catholics at large and Democrats had steered clear of the group in their questions to her. 

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