Democrats, particularly those that sit on the Senate Judiciary Committee, are running with this wild notion that holding in-person hearings for Judge Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation is not safe because of the Wuhan coronavirus. According to majority staffers for the Committee, the "hearing will be in accordance with the Office of Attending Physician and Senate rules."
Despite having precautions in place, like social distancing and the ability to test for the virus, and the ability to participate virtually, Senate Democrats are still wanting Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to postpone the hearing until after the election.
Senate Judiciary Democrats Patrick Leahy, Cory Booker and Kamala Harris ask Chair @LindseyGrahamSC to establish a “clear testing regime” for Covid-19 before proceeding with the Supreme Court hearing, citing infected senators. pic.twitter.com/KsIN2CFogs
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) October 9, 2020
Yesterday I joined @SenFeinstein and Judiciary Committee Democrats in calling on Chairman Graham to delay the upcoming Supreme Court confirmation hearings. Moving forward threatens the health and safety of everyone involved. There’s no question that we cannot move forward.
— Kamala Harris (@SenKamalaHarris) October 5, 2020
There are senators on the Judiciary Committee who are sick with COVID-19.
— Sen. Cory Booker (@SenBooker) October 6, 2020
It’s reckless & dangerous to public health for GOP leadership to rush a hearing for their SCOTUS nominee.
They’ve postponed voting & other hearings in the Senate—this hearing should not be an exception. https://t.co/v15ZfGiM74
Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) has participated in a majority of the hearings in-person and plans to do so for Judge Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation, although he objects to it.
Coons, who tested negative twice for COVID-19 after attending Presidential debate in Ohio, plans to participate in confirmation hearings in person:"I'm going to test again probably tomorrow,perhaps Friday,just to make sure before I return to Washington that I have a recent test."
— Craig Caplan (@CraigCaplan) October 7, 2020
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Coons: "I have no reason to believe that I was exposed, but it is important, it's urgent that we provide for the safety of the staff and the Senators for this hearing next week, and it's one of many reasons I feel strongly we shouldn't even be doing this."
— Craig Caplan (@CraigCaplan) October 7, 2020
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) said the hearing should be put on hold because multiple Sens. have tested positive for the Wuhan coronavirus. But Klobuchar was the very person who helped implement these virtual hearings so that business as usual could continue without the potential for exposure.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) on why Senate needs to postpone Amy Coney Barrett vote: "We don't know how many other Republican senators had it ... I don't know why you would ram through this Supreme Court hearing, put people in danger ..." pic.twitter.com/1CcZRDkHW2
— The Recount (@therecount) October 4, 2020
If Democrats were so worried about the WuFlu, why did a number of them – including Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) – attend a majority of the hearings in-person? If Democrats opposed virtual hearings, why did quite a few, like Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Cory Booker (D-NJ), participate over the last few months?
Here's who showed up to the hearings. Democrats who attended in-person are in bold.
May 6: Full Committee Hearing on the Nomination of Justin Walker to be US Circuit Judge for the District Of Columbia
- In person: Graham, Feinstein, Durbin, Cornyn, Lee, Cruz, Hawley, Coons, Blumenthal, Ernst, Kennedy, Booker, Paul
- Virtual: Leahy, Whitehouse, Klobuchar, Tillis, Hirono, Blackburn
May 12: Full Committee Hearing on Legal Liability During the New Coronavirus
- In person: Graham, Feinstein, Grassley, Durbin, Lee, Hawley, Cruz, Coons, Blumenthal
- Virtual: Leahy, Tillis, Whitehouse, Klobuchar, Hirono, Harris, Witness
May 20: Full Committee Hearing on the Nomination of Cory Wilson to be US Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit
- In person: Graham, Feinstein, Grassley, Durbin, Lee, Cruz, Coons, Hawley, Ernst, Blumenthal, Kennedy, Wicker, Hyde-Smith
- Virtual: Whitehouse, Blackburn, Booker, Hirono
June 2: Full Committee Hearing on Examining Best Practices for Incarceration and Detention During COVID-19
- In person: Graham, Feinstein, Durbin, Coons, Blumenthal, Grassley, Hawley, Cruz, Booker, Harris, Lee
- Virtual: Whitehouse, Klobuchar, Tillis, Hirono, Multiple Witnesses
June 2: Subcommittee on Intellectual Property Hearing on Is the DMCA’s Notice-and-Takedown System Working in the 21st Century?
- In person: Tillis, Coons, Blumenthal
- Virtual: Multiple Witnesses
June 3: Full Committee Hearing on Crossfire Hurricane Investigation Oversight
- In person: Graham, Feinstein, Grassley, Leahy, Cornyn, Durbin, Lee, Whitehouse, Cruz, Klobuchar, Hawley, Coons, Tillis, Blumenthal, Ernst, Crapo, Booker, Kennedy, Blackburn
- Virtual: Hirono
June 9: Full Committee Hearing on COVID-19 Fraud: Law Enforcement’s Response to Those Exploiting the Pandemic
- In person: Graham, Feinstein, Grassley, Durbin, Tillis, Whitehouse, Hawley, Blumenthal
- Virtual: Klobuchar, Blackburn, Hirono, Booker
June 16: Full Committee Hearing on Police Use of Force and Community Relations
- In person: Graham, Feinstein, Booker, Harris, Klobuchar, Grassley, Leahy, Cornyn, Durbin, Lee, Whitehouse, Hawley, Hirono, Cruz, Tillis, Blumenthal, Ernst, Crapo, Kennedy
- Virtual: Multiple Witnesses, Blackburn
June 17: Full Committee Hearing on Judicial Nominations
- In person: Blackburn, Feinstein, Johnson, Kennedy, Blumenthal, Hawley
- Virtual: Toomey, Casey, Multiple Nominees, Tillis
June 23: Full Committee Hearing on The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, Coronavirus, and Addressing China’s Culpability
- In person: Graham, Feinstein, Grassley, Coons, Cornyn, Whitehouse, Lee, Blumenthal, Cruz, Booker, Ernst
- Virtual: Witness, Hirono, Hawley, Blackburn
June 24: Full Committee Hearing on Judicial Nominations
- In person: Kaine, Durbin, Kennedy, Hawley, Blumenthal
- Virtual: Multiple Nominees, Hirono
June 30: The Judicial Conference’s Recommendation for More Judgeships
- In person: Graham, Feinstein, Grassley, Coons, Crapo, Hawley, Blumenthal, Whitehouse
- Virtual: Multiple Witnesses, Hirono, Booker
July 22: Full Committee Protecting the Integrity of College Athletics
- In person: Graham, Blumenthal, Booker, Sasse, Lee, Hawley
- Virtual: Multiple Witnesses
July 28: Subcommittee on Intellectual Property Hearing on How Does the DMCA Contemplate Limitations and Exceptions Like Fair Use?
- In person: Tillis, Coons
- Virtual: Multiple Witnesses
July 29: Full Committee Hearing on Judicial Nominations
- In person: Sasse, Feinstein, Roberts, Blumenthal, Hawley
- Virtual: Multiple Nominees, Portman, Brown, Hirono, Blackburn
Aug. 4: Subcommittee on the Constitution Hearing on The Right of the People Peaceably to Assemble: Protecting Speech by Stopping Anarchist Violence
- In person: Cruz, Hirono, Merkley, Graham, Durbin, Lee, Whitehouse, Coons, Blumenthal
- Virtual: Wyden, Blackburn, Multiple Witnesses
Aug. 5: Full Committee Hearing on Oversight of the Crossfire Hurricane Investigation: Day 2
- In person: Graham, Feinstein, Grassley, Leahy, Cornyn, Durbin, Lee, Whitehouse, Hawley, Tillis, Coons, Kennedy, Blumenthal, Cruz
- Virtual: Witness, Klobuchar, Hirono, Blackburn, Booker
Sept. 9: Full Committee Hearing on Judicial Nominations
- In person: Graham, Feinstein, Wicker, Hyde-Smith, Lee, Blumenthal, Cruz, Durbin, Hawley
- Virtual: Multiple Nominees, Cassidy, Hirono
Sept. 15: Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights Holds Hearing on Stacking the Tech: Has Google harmed competition in online advertising?
- In person: Lee, Klobuchar, Hawley, Blumenthal, Cruz
- Virtual: Witness, Blackburn
Sept. 16: Subcommittee on Intellectual Property Holds Hearing on Are Reforms to Section 1201 Needed and Warranted?
- In person: Tillis, Coons, Blumenthal
- Virtual: Multiple Witnesses
Sept. 30: Full Committee Hearing on Oversight of the Crossfire Hurricane Investigation: Day 3
- In person: Graham, Feinstein, Cornyn, Durbin, Lee, Whitehouse, Cruz, Klobuchar, Sasse, Coons, Hawley, Blumenthal, Tillis, Hirono, Ernst, Booker, Kennedy, Blackburn
- Virtual: Witness, Leahy
Which is it, Democrats? Are in-person hearings a terrible idea across the board and only virtual hearings should take place during the coronavirus? Or are in-person hearings the only way to conduct business and everything should be paused?
You can't have it both ways.
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