Senator Murray reiterates call for Senate Republicans to wait to fill Justice Ginsburg Supreme Court seat following COVID-19 outbreak that has sickened group of Senators
More from Washington Post: Positive tests for senators raise doubts about fast-track confirmation of Trump’s Supreme Court choice – LINK
***WATCH SENATOR MURRAY’S VIDEO STATEMENT HERE***
ICYMI: With Health Care and Reproductive Rights at Stake, Senator Murray Launches Story Drive to Help Washingtonians Speak Out Against Republicans’ Rushed SCOTUS Nomination – MORE HERE
(Washington, D.C.) –Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), top Democrat on the Senate health committee, reiterated her strong opposition to Senate Republicans’ rushed efforts to replace Justice Ginsburg with a partisan judge following Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell’s decision to adjourn the Senate in recess after members of the Senate announced they had recently tested positive for the virus. On social media, Senator Murray emphasized the need for the Senate to prioritize public safety and addressing the deep needs of the COVID-19 pandemic in a video statement, and called on Washingtonians and people across the nation to keep raising their voices against Senate Republicans’ brazenly hypocritical and rushed scheme to stack the Supreme Court with another hard-right jurist hand-picked by President Trump to help overturn affordable health care, eliminate protections for pre-existing conditions, and criminalize abortions.
“The recent positive cases of COVID-19 in the Senate only further underscore that this is no time to be jamming a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the country through the Senate. The Senate’s focus should be on keeping communities—and the Capitol complex—safe from this pandemic, and working urgently to pass a relief bill that will meet the deep needs of this moment,” said Senator Murray in the urgent video message.
Senator Murray has been a strident opponent of Judge Barrett and Senate Republicans’ aggressive efforts to push their ideological judicial agenda, and has sharply criticized their substandard and unserious efforts to respond to the health and economic effects of COVID-19. In addition to doing everything she can in the Senate to stop Judge Barrett’s confirmation, Senator Murray has urged people in Washington state and across the nation to join in Democrats’ fight against President Trump’s far-right nominee Amy Coney Barrett, whose troubling record and past writings confirm that she is committed to gutting health care through the courts and ending the right to safe, legal abortion in the United States. To that end, earlier this week Senator Murray launched a new website to gather and lift up stories from Washingtonians about what is at stake for them if Republicans rush through the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett and put another anti-health care and anti-reproductive rights Justice on the Supreme Court.
Watch the video on Senator Murray’s Twitter HERE.
Transcript of Senator Murray’s brief remarks, below:
“Hi—I wanted to share a quick update on the effort to fill Justice Ginsburg’s seat.
“Americans here in Washington state and around our country are sending a clear message—they do not want this Supreme Court vacancy filled while voting is underway…
“…with a nominee who would vote to take away their health care, and called the Roe v. Wade ruling “barbaric”.
“The recent positive cases of COVID-19 in the Senate only further underscore that this is no time to be jamming a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the country through the Senate.
“The Senate’s focus should be on keeping communities—and the Capitol complex—safe from this pandemic, and working urgently to pass a relief bill that will meet the deep needs of this moment.
“So keep speaking out and making your voices heard—it’s going to take all of us to push Republicans to honor Justice Ginsburg’s last wish.”
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