Dear MoveOn member,
Over the weekend, after it was announced that three Republican senators had tested positive for COVID-19, Mitch McConnell shut down most of the Senate's activities until October 19 but made it clear that—come hell or high water—Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation hearings would still move forward as scheduled starting on October 12.1 At the same time, Senator Tom Cotton suggested that Republican senators sick with the coronavirus could be "wheeled in" to the Senate chamber to vote on her confirmation, in order to make sure it goes through before Election Day.2
Read that again. Take that in. Republicans are saying that it's too dangerous for the Senate to continue normal business, including voting on coronavirus relief bills, but not too dangerous to jam through Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation. And that if they have to, they will risk infecting every other member of the Senate, staffers, drivers, security personnel, and others by bringing sick senators into the chamber to vote for her.
That is how far they are willing to go. And it is despicable.
We won't let them get away with it without a fight. A week ago, it seemed that there was little that could be done to stop Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation, but the news over the past few days has changed everything and is yet another reason why her confirmation MUST be stopped.
We are doing everything we can to demand that Republicans do what's right and that Democrats do whatever they can to stop this process in its tracks over the next few weeks. Will you chip in $3 a week to power this critically important work? (MoveOn will bill your weekly donation to your credit card once a month starting today and will contact you shortly after the election to see if you want to modify or cancel your weekly donation.)
No, I'm sorry, I can't chip in weekly.
Here is where we stand:
- Last week, it appeared that Mitch McConnell had the votes to force through this nomination, with only Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski coming forward to say that they would vote against a nominee this close to an election.3
- As of this morning, three Republican senators—Mike Lee, Thom Tillis, and Ron Johnson—have tested positive for COVID-19. Both Lee and TIllis are on the Judiciary Committee and would be required to vote in person to advance Barrett's nomination from the committee to a full vote on the floor and then again to confirm her.4,5
- Although senators can participate in the committee hearing remotely, a majority of the committee must be present in order to vote on her nomination and advance it to the floor of the Senate.6
If either Sen. Lee or Sen. Tillis cannot be there in person to vote and Democrats on the committee boycott the hearing, the committee will not have the quorum needed for a vote on her nomination.7 Or if both Tillis and Lee are unable to be there in person to vote, the committee would be tied at 10-10, and Senate rules do not allow for a tiebreaker.8
While both of those scenarios are possible, it is shocking and unacceptable that we even need to think through them. At least three senators are currently positive for COVID-19. Many others may have been exposed at the very event that announced Amy Coney Barrett's nomination.
Clearly, the only pathway forward is for this nomination process to be put on pause. It is morbid and disgraceful for it to move forward under these circumstances.
We need to do everything we can to push Democrats, who have the power to force procedural votes to slow or stop this process, and to ensure that Republicans know that if they move forward with this nomination, we will hold them accountable for their actions at the ballot box.
Will you chip in $3 a week to keep this work going, Mar? (MoveOn will bill your weekly donation to your credit card once a month starting today and will contact you shortly after the election to see if you want to modify or cancel your weekly donation.)
No, I'm sorry, I can't chip in weekly.
The news over the past few days has been absolutely flabbergasting. At least 28 White House staff and close allies of Donald Trump—including Trump himself—have tested positive for COVID-19.9 Many were likely infected at a super-spreader event hosted by the White House, in flagrant violation of the government's own safety protocols.
But everyone who was infected at that event has access to high-quality health care to help them recover. Trump has been given a cocktail of experimental treatments not available to the millions of other Americans who have been infected. And others have admitted themselves to the hospital as a "precaution," unlike so many in our country who were turned away from emergency rooms and told to come back only if and when they could barely breathe.
And that is exactly the type of health care policy that Trump, the GOP, and Amy Coney Barrett support: top-quality care for the wealthy, scraps for the rest of us.
And it is precisely why Barrett cannot take a seat on the Supreme Court. She will vote to strip health care from millions, in the middle of a pandemic that has now reached the highest office in our country.
A week ago, this didn't look like a fight we could win. But everything has changed. Will you help us run full speed ahead to protect the Supreme Court by chipping in $3 a week? (MoveOn will bill your weekly donation to your credit card once a month starting today and will contact you shortly after the election to see if you want to modify or cancel your weekly donation.)
No, I'm sorry, I can't chip in weekly.
Thanks for all you do.
–Justin, Nita, Elsie, Ankur, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "This week: Coronavirus complicates Senate's Supreme Court fight," The Hill, October 5, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/145032?t=8&akid=277752%2E10220574%2ENFmdhV
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. "COVID-19 outbreak in GOP caucus complicates Barrett confirmation," SCOTUSBlog, October 3, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/145033?t=10&akid=277752%2E10220574%2ENFmdhV
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
9. Tweet by Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding, October 5, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/145034?t=12&akid=277752%2E10220574%2ENFmdhV
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No, I'm sorry, I can't chip in weekly.
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