Speaking from the Senate floor Tuesday afternoon, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ripped Democrats for their refusal to meet with Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett and for their egregious personal attacks against her.
“As I predicted last week, the far left is rushing to make this nomination about anything but Judge Barrett’s qualifications. The instant she was announced, they started with the same unhinged attacks they have recycled for every Supreme Court nomination by every Republican president since the 1970s," McConnell said. "Remember, the far left said Justice Stevens opposed ‘women’s rights.’ That Justice Kennedy would be ‘a disaster for women.’ That Justice Souter would put the ‘health and lives’ of Americans at risk."
“Well, Saturday went like clockwork. The political left took one look at Judge Barrett’s qualifications, gave up on debating the merits, and headed right for the old scare tactics. Our colleague the Democratic Leader informed Americans that this 48-year-old working mother was going to ‘turn back the clock on women’s rights.’ The junior Senator for California said the nominee would ‘harm millions of Americans.’ The junior Senator for Connecticut said, quote, ‘Amy Coney Barrett would create a humanitarian catastrophe.’ Here we go again," he continued. "One of the pre-selected scare tactics is that Judge Barrett is out to steal Americans’ healthcare coverage. That’s the claim: This mother of seven, including multiple children who were born or adopted facing pre-existing medical challenges, is just itching to block families like hers from accessing medical care. What a joke."
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In addition, McConnell defended Judge Barrett against attacks on her faith, which were also made during her confirmation hearing for the U.S. Circuit Court.
“Three years ago, Senate Democrats’ bizarre attacks on Judge Barrett’s religious faith became a national embarrassment for their side of the aisle. The senior Senator for Illinois asked now-Judge Barrett ‘Do you consider yourself an orthodox Catholic?’ This was during a United States Senate hearing. The senior Senator for California told her that ‘the dogma lives loudly within you. And that’s of concern,’" McConnell said. “This was not an isolated incident. Over the past few years, multiple Senate Democrats, on multiple different occasions, have openly suggested that certain kinds of religious beliefs might disqualify citizens from public service."
"But every time they try to use the nominee’s personal faith as a political weapon, they will only be reminding millions of Americans why it is so essential to have judges just like Judge Barrett on the bench," he continued. “In this country, our country, citizens have religious liberty. In this country, our country, there is no religious test for public office. And in this country, our country, we have the right to seek the protection of the courts when our free exercise of religion is threatened. That is why we need judges like Judge Barrett, who understand our laws and Constitution and will uphold our freedoms accordingly."
Watch his full speech below:
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