Murkowski says she will vote to confirm Barrett to Supreme Court on Monday

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said on Saturday that she will vote to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court on Monday, despite objections to taking up the nomination before the Nov. 3 election.

"I have no doubt about her intellect. I have no doubt about Judge Barrett's judicial temperament. I have no doubt about her capability to do the job. ... I have concluded that she is the sort of person we want on the Supreme Court," Murkowski said from the Senate floor.

Murkowski, the only GOP senator to oppose then-nominee Brett Kavanaugh in 2018, was one of the last senators whose vote was in doubt.

Leadership indicated earlier Saturday that the moderate senator had privately told them what she intended to do, but Murkowski had kept her thinking closely held after meeting with Barrett earlier this week where they discussed, among other things, the Affordable Care Act, precedent and voting rights.

Murkowski, during her floor speech, reiterated that she does not believe Republicans should be holding a vote on Barrett before the Nov. 3 election. Murkowski voted against proceeding to the nomination on Friday and said she will oppose ending debate on Barrett's nomination on Sunday.

"I do not believe that moving forward on a nominee just over a week removed from a pitched presidential election when partisan tensions are running about as high as they could, I do not think this will help our country become a better version of itself," Murkowski said.

But Murkowski added, "Frankly, I've lost that procedural fight" and said she was making a decision on confirming Barrett based on the judge's legal philosophy.

"I believe that the only way to put us back on the path of appropriate consideration of judicial nominees is to evaluate Judge Barrett as we would want to be judged, on the merits of her qualifications. A... (Read more)

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