Democrats Force Senate Into Closed Session To Protest Barrett Nomination

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Democrats forced the Senate into a rare closed session as they are protesting the Supreme Court nomination of Amy Coney Barrett.

Schumer said in remarks provided to PoliticusUSA about the closed session:

I believe the Senate Majority is on the precipice of making a colossal and historic mistake.

By rushing this nomination through the Senate only 8 days before a national election, after 50 million Americans have already voted, the Republican majority is steering the Senate, the Supreme Court, and the country in a very dangerous direction.

The damage to Americans’ faith in these institutions could be lasting.

So, before we go any further, we should shut off the cameras, close the Senate, and talk face to face about what this might mean for the country.

We need to restore public trust in our institutions, not continue to undermine it. The Senate majority may have the power to confirm this nomination before the election, but that does not make it right.

Might does not make it right.

We ought to have a candid conversation, Senator to Senator, in which we truly listen to each other, before it’s too late.

So I am making a motion to move to closed session in accordance with Rule XXI, I now move that the Senate go into closed session.

A half an hour later, the Senate was out of the closed session:

And just like that, the Senate is no longer in closed session as the chamber is now voting

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 23, 2020

Democrats have little power to stop the nomination, however, if Barrett isn’t confirmed quickly, Democrats may have a slim chance of holding the nomination up until after Election Day. The Senate Judiciary Committee protest of the vote where Democrats boycotted was the first of many actions that Democrats will be taking to voice their displeasure with the process.

Their anger is a signal that if they take back the majority, Democrats are going to move to recover the two Supreme Court seats that Mitch McConnell stole from the American people.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.

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Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

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Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association

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