Texas Senator Ted Cruz has no doubts in his mind that when next Tuesday rolls around, Amy Coney Barrett is all but guaranteed to have “Justice” attached to her name.
According to The Hill, Cruz says the GOP has the votes and the feeling of commitment across the board. To make sure the vote gets passed, they’re pulling out all the stops:
“I’m very confident. I believe we have the votes. I believe we’ll get it done,” Cruz said during a Washington Post Live interview. “As I see it, we have a solid 51 votes right now. And from the conversations in the conference, I don’t see that changing.”
Cruz’s remarks are the latest sign that Republicans are preparing to plow forward, even as three GOP senators have tested positive for the coronavirus and another three GOP senators, including Cruz, have tested negative but are self-isolating. One of the senators who tested positive said he was willing to come to the Senate in a “moon suit” to help confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett.
The hearing is scheduled to start next Monday, beginning with opening statements, followed by two days of questioning, with the final day on Thursday reserved for outside expert testimony. The vote itself is expected to occur on Oct. 22.
According to the interview Cruz conducted with the Washington Post, he said he asked Graham privately why he wasn’t holding the hearings sooner.
“Procedurally, what I think is critical is that the Senate confirm Judge Barrett before Election Day. … So I wanted to make sure that we would have sufficient timing to get the confirmation completed before Election Day. All of the parliamentary experts we talked to felt confident that no matter what shenanigans [Democrats] pulled that we would have sufficient time to get the job done by Election Day,” Cruz said.
The Hill reported that Cruz will be attending virtually for the first two days, but will attend in person for the rest of the confirmation. Multiple senators will be attending virtually. Others, including Thom Tillis and Mike Lee, believe they’ll be back to the Senate to vote for Barrett in time, after having contracted COVID-19 themselves.
Cruz’s confidence in the confirmation is refreshing news for GOP voters who wish to see another Trump nominee on the Court. While Democrats are likely to try to pull tricks in order to stop the confirmation vote and delay it until after the election, the resolve Cruz and the GOP are showing gives the impression that nothing is going to stop them, not even contracting COVID.
If and when Barrett is confirmed, Democrats will likely attempt to pack the court. Biden was asked whether or not he would try that himself during the first presidential debate and would not give a straight answer. Instead, he asked President Trump to “shut up, man.”
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