Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation to the Supreme Court will be a “political asset” for the Republican Party heading into the final week before Election Day.
The Kentucky Republican appeared on Fox News hours after a close 52-48 vote that secured President Trump’s third addition to the high court and dismissed the notion that there would be a political cost for Senate Republicans over their divisive push to fill the seat left vacant following the death of liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
“If you recall, we had a Supreme Court fight months before the election in 2018, and we actually gained seats,” McConnell told Shannon Bream. “I think this nominee will be a political asset for our candidates around the country. Not a liability, but an asset.”
Republicans lost control of the House thanks to the “blue wave” of 2018, and election forecasters say Republicans are at risk of losing their Senate majority this time around. Even Trump reportedly told donors last week it would be a “tough fight” for his party in the upper chamber.
As it stands now, Republicans hold 53 seats, and Democrats have 45 seats. There are also two independents who caucus with the Democrats.
Democrats opposed having a Supreme Court nominee so close to a presidential election and are already using Barrett’s confirmation as a political cudgel to motivate voters.
“The rushed and unprecedented confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett as Associate Justice to the Supreme Court, in the middle of an ongoing election, should be a stark reminder to every American that your vote matters,” Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said at the top of a statement, before warning that Republicans are playing the long game to gut the Affordable Care Act.
Dodging, for now, on the issue of court-packing, the former vice president has said he would create a commission to study a number of possible Supreme Court reforms if he wins.
McConnell, who helped usher in two other Trump picks to the Supreme Court over the past few years, appeared unconcerned that Democrats might try to institute any drastic changes, calling it the “same old threat.”
The majority leader, who decided to adjourn the Senate until after the election, dashing any hope that Congress would pass a new round of coronavirus aid before Nov. 3, also took a moment to mark Trump’s record with judicial appointments.
“This is a happy night for the country and, in particular, for this Senate Republican majority, which has, as you know, Shannon, emphasized judicial appointments,” McConnell said. “We’ve done 53 circuit judges, one step below the Supreme Court, the first time in 40 years, no vacancies in the circuit courts, and over 200 lifetime appointments altogether.”
