Democrats Considering ‘Boycott’ Of Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings, Refuse To Meet With Amy Coney Barrett

Democrats are reportedly considering a plan to boycott upcoming Senate Supreme Court confirmation hearings, and at least two Democratic Senators — Hawaii’s Mazie Hirono and Connecticut’s Richard Blumenthal — say they will not meet with nominee Amy Coney Barrett because it would “legitimize” President Donald Trump’s decision to kick off a nomination process just weeks from a presidential election.

The Houston Chronicle reports that Democratic senators are “mapping out how they will wield their limited procedural weapons in the fight over President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee” and are “grappling with a central question: How much legitimacy do they give his candidate?”

“With little power to actually derail Trump’s pick, Democrats are coming under considerable pressure from their activist base to use every tactic at their disposal to not just throw sand in the gears of the confirmation fight, but to portray the consideration of expected nominee Amy Coney Barrett as a farce that shouldn’t even occur,” the outlet notes.

Over the last week, Democrats have tried a variety of approaches, from attacking Republicans as “hypocrites” for nominating a new jurist to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg — even though at this point, Republicans control both the White House and the Senate and it is possible the president will shortly earn an additional term — to attacking Amy Coney Barrett for her large family, adopted children, and faith community.

Sunday morning, Democratic leaders tried again to redirect the argument, focusing instead on upcoming oral arguments questioning the Constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act scheduled to take place at the start of the Supreme Co... (Read more)

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