Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham appeared on "Sunday Morning Futures" with Maria Bartiromo to explain more about what the schedule of hearings on Judge Amy Coney Barrett's nomination will look like.
If all goes according to plan, Judge Amy Coney Barrett will be confirmed to the United States Supreme Court by Election Day.
"More than half of the Supreme Court justices who have had hearings were done within 16 days or less, so we'll start on Oct. 12, and more than half of the Supreme Court justices who have had hearings were done within 16 days or less," Graham told the Fox Business host.
"We'll have a day of introduction. We'll have two days of questioning, Tuesday and Wednesday, and on the 15th we'll begin to markup, we'll hold it over for a week, and we'll report her nomination out of the committee on Oct. 22."
Then the nomination is in Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's hands, he added.
Historically speaking, the quick turnaround isn't all that unusual.
There were 57 days between the nomination and hearing for Kavanaugh, 48 for Justices Neil Gorsuch and Sonia Sotomayor and 49 days for Justice Elena Kagan. But many past confirmations have taken place on a similar accelerated timeline. There were just 14 days between the nomination and hearing for retired Justice Anthony Kennedy, 10 days for the late Justice John Paul Stevens, 12 for the late Justice Lewis Powell and 12 for the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist. (Fox News)
As noted by the Judiciary Committee, Barrett has a "sterling academic and legal background" and "her 2017 confirmation was supported by every member of her Supreme Court clerk class, including the clerks of Justices Stevens, Ginsburg, O'Connor, Souter and others."
Nevertheless, some Democrats have refused to even meet with Barrett, alleging the process is illegitimate. Sen. Ted Cruz saw no problem with that, however. Fewer Democrats mean less drama and a quicker confirmation.
Excellent idea! And if you & all your Dem colleagues boycott the hearing altogether, we’ll avoid the political circus & the desperate attempts to smear Judge Barrett and her family.
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) September 27, 2020
And we’ll confirm her faster! https://t.co/G30D217Cyt