Today is the day. Around 7:30 pm, the Senate will vote on the confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States of America.
The Senate was in session over the weekend, voting on procedural motions and cloture, which is the process to set a time limit to end debate on considering a measure. Once cloture is invoked, there is a 30-hour time period during which Senators may speak for one hour each. The Senate floor was open overnight, which is why the 30-hours ends around 7:30 pm tonight after yesterday’s 1:30 pm vote.
The weekend’s votes generally fell along party lines and did nothing to sway the outcome. The cloture vote was 51-48, with Republican Senators Collins and Murkowski voting No and Senator Harris absent on the campaign trail.
Meanwhile, the majority of Americans support Judge Barrett’s confirmation and polling in support has only increased through the process.
The big news of the weekend was Senator Murkowski of Alaska announcing that she will vote Yes on Judge Barrett. Notably, Senator Murkowski was the only Republican to vote No on Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2018. She has voted No on procedural motions but explained that while she believes that there should be no confirmation process, Judge Barrett has earned her vote.
From her remarks:
“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.”
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