In One Last Gasp Of A Dying GOP, The Senate Confirms Amy Coney Barrett To The Supreme Court

The Republican-controlled Senate, led by Mitch McConnell, voted to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court on Monday night, just eight days before a presidential election in which more than 60 million Americans have already voted.

The move was the last gasp of a Republican Party that seems to know it’s headed for defeat after spending the past four years letting Donald Trump trample over the rule of law.

As Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown said just before the vote, “I think McConnell’s already decided that Trump’s going to lose, and I think in his mind he understands they’re going to lose the Senate.”

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“This is one last power grab that Mitch McConnell is doing to cap his career,” the Ohio lawmaker added.

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Sen. Brown said:

It’s pretty clear that Mitch McConnell’s already packed the court. He’s done it through the federal judiciary over the last four years at all levels. At the circuit level, at the district level, and the Supreme Court. I think everything is on the table next year, but Democrats play hardball. And that means we figure out the best answer. I think fundamentally, I think McConnell’s already decided that Trump’s going to lose. And I think in his mind he understands they’re going to lose the Senate and this is one last power grab that Mitch McConnell is doing to cap his career, and I think he pretty much knows that. And we go big next year. … The best answer to McConnell’s power grab is move the country forward in a progressive direction. And that’s what next Tuesday’s going to do.

The GOP is on its political deathbed

As Sen. Sherrod Brown suggested on Monday night, the reason Republicans are ramming through a lifetime Supreme Court appointment is that they know they are headed for defeat in just over a week.

Confirming a Supreme Court justice after losing an election would likely be a non-starter for enough Senate Republicans to block the nomination, so doing it before votes are counted on Nov. 3 is their only option.

It’s a shameful, 11th-hour power grab from a Republican Party that’s officially on its political deathbed.

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Sean Colarossi

Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.