Multiple GOP Senators Test Positive for COVID-19, Putting Barrett Confirmation on Thin Ice

[Richiek]

COVID-19 Outbreak Could Derail Amy Coney Barrett Nomination | Law & Crime

The careening course of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak at the White House is threatening to tear a multiple-senator-sized hole right through Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) best laid plans for the Supreme Court.

lawandcrime.com

In light of the news that 3 GOP senators have tested positive for COVID, its entirely possible that the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court is in jeopardy.

According to the Rules of Procedure of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, the GOP likely does not have a quorum that can move Barrett's nomination onto the floor of the Senate because two out of the three COVID-19 subtractions–Senators Lee and Tillis–are members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Per those rules [emphasis added]:

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Seven Members of the Committee, actually present, shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of discussing business. Nine Members of the Committee, including at least two Members of the minority, shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of transacting business. No bill, matter, or nomination shall be ordered reported from the Committee, however, unless a majority of the Committee is actually present at the time such action is taken and a majority of those present support the action taken.

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While the Senate has conducted remote committee hearings due to the ongoing pandemic as of late, the Judiciary Committee rules state that members must be "actually present" and in "support" to advance a nomination. Were Democrats to actually play hard ball with Barrett's nomination using procedural methods, a Democratic senator could make a "quorum call" or other parliamentary inquiry to delay the process and potentially win on the merits. Also, notably, McConnell has expressly rejected remote and proxy voting in the past–and there are currently no Senate rules in effect that allow for remote voting on the floor.

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EDIT: Just to be clear, for quorum to be valid, ALL members need to be present. No remote or Zoom meetings for infected members.





Who would have thunk that after all the doom and gloom of the GOP ramming in a right wing SC justice after the death of Ruth Bader Ginsberg, they would be sabotaged thanks to their disregard of the pandemic.

 

[foxuzamaki]

Its like poetry

 

[Davilmar]

We need to do everything to sabotage and fuck over Republicans on the proceedings.

 

[Clydefrog]

That could be some real karma there... but I still believe they'll figure out a way to get her on the court before they can't.

 

[ToddBonzalez]

Man this schadenfreude thing is a helluva drug, isn't it?

 

[hydruxo]

 

[selfnoise]

This is nonsense. This appointment has been the defining goal of these fascists for generations. They will get it through if it takes the death of every member of the Senate.

 

[Hale-XF11]

Supreme justice.

 

[BWoog]

They'd do it after the election, but still would be hilarious if they couldn't to assist in Trump's clear scheme to cheat the election.

 

[selfnoise]

Also the rules do not matter if no one stands up for them. And no one in power will in any way that matters.

 

[Deleted member 16657]

inb4 these fuckers with covid break quarantine "for the good of the country"

 

[Temascos]

We'll have to see if it pans out, but if the hearings are delayed or cancelled until Biden is sworn in or the Senate goes Democrat, then man, what a game changer.

Regardless, this whole incident is a great example of hubris. They thought they were unstoppable, only to put themselves in needless danger.

 

[Joni]

Thank you Mike Lee for believing in showing Covid isn't a real danger and giving people hugs.

 

[Schreckweg 5000]

Mitch would personally drag their dead bodies to vote

 

[SeeingeyeDug]

They'll do it in a lame duck session before January if Biden wins. I don't see how this changes the end goal, even if they can't accomplish it in October.

 

[CrankyJay]

Are they going to try to do some lame call in or zoom meeting or legal proxy or is it written in stone it has to be in person?

 

[KtotheRoc]

Oh, Mitch will make them break quarantine if he has to. This has been his goddamn life goal.

And if they do it during the Lame Duck, Democrats will definitely pack the Courts.

 

[IrishNinja]

They'll do it in a lame duck session before January if Biden wins. I don't see how this changes the end goal, even if they can't accomplish it in October.

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this
they've made it clear this was a goal for quite some time now, it's just a matter of when

 

[Volimar]

You think these people care about the rules. Even if they break the law to get her confirmed, once she's in, she's in. She's not getting impeached.

 

[TreeMePls]

Keep in mind they dragged Mccain in when he had brain cancer for a vote

 

[Contramann]

HIlarious that their own hypocrisy got them. If they hadn't decided they could ram through a Justice and stuck to their argument under Obama, who knows what might have happened instead?

This is nonsense. This appointment has been the defining goal of these fascists for generations. They will get it through if it takes the death of every member of the Senate.

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Also the rules do not matter if no one stands up for them. And no one in power will in any way that matters.

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The hell do these posts mean?

 

[Mauricio_Magus]

Fuck Yes

 

[greatgeek]

They will appoint Barret. But it's gonna look even more illegitimate now, possibly providing Dems with enough political cover to do something to rebalance the courts.

 

[Eidan]

this
they've made it clear this was a goal for quite some time now, it's just a matter of when

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It honestly would just make Court packing that much easier to sell to the public.

 

[nihilence]

COVID-19 Outbreak Could Derail Amy Coney Barrett Nomination | Law & Crime

The careening course of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak at the White House is threatening to tear a multiple-senator-sized hole right through Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) best laid plans for the Supreme Court.

lawandcrime.com

In light of the news that 3 GOP senators have tested positive for COVID, its entirely possible that the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court is in jeopardy.







Who would have thunk that after all the doom and gloom of the GOP ramming in a right wing SC justice after the death of Ruth Bader Ginsberg, they would be sabotaged thanks to their disregard of the pandemic.

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They should take it as a sign from the almighty.

 

[Richiek]

The hell do these posts mean?

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These knee jerk doom and gloom posts are pretty insufferable.

 

[Version 3.0]

inb4 these fuckers with covid break quarantine "for the good of the country"

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Yeah. I was wondering, am I missing something? What's with all the talk about the Senate rules and procedures? There's no rule, nor law, that says they can't just show up infected, is there?

Because that's what they'll do. The only way COVID stops this confirmation is if it incapacitates or kills several GOP Senators.

 

[RiOrius]

Delay, delay, delay. Force the GOP to fight past every roadblock you can put up. Yeah, they can probably get it done by January, but nobody saw this coming, and 2020's been wild so far. Might as well keep the dice rolling.

And if they do seat a Justice with a lame duck President, after claiming in 2016 that "the People deserve a say!"? That's worth some political points.

 

[PeakPointMatrix]

They will wheel in GOP senators hooked up to ventilators before they agree to a delay.

 

[shinobi602]

GOP's been championing the "hysteria" and exaggeration of COVID the whole year and COVID didn't like that:

 

[Kyrona]

Yeah. I was wondering, am I missing something? What's with all the talk about the Senate rules and procedures? There's no rule, nor law, that says they can't just show up infected, is there?

Because that's what they'll do. The only way COVID stops this confirmation is if it incapacitates or kills several GOP Senators.

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If they have it and break quarantine knowingly, wouldn't it be an offense in the same way not disclosing an std would be? There has to be a law on the books for exposing others recklessly and knowingly like that, right?

 

[ErichWK]

It's crazy they are so blatant on focusing on judges over covid relief.

 

[ez123]

If only

 

[Joshua]

 

[Alex3190]

What a shame.

 

[Contramann]

These knee jerk doom and gloom posts are pretty insufferable.

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It gets really draining to constantly read.

Yeah. I was wondering, am I missing something? What's with all the talk about the Senate rules and procedures? There's no rule, nor law, that says they can't just show up infected, is there?

Because that's what they'll do. The only way COVID stops this confirmation is if it incapacitates or kills several GOP Senators.

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As evil as the GOP may seem I don't think they're about to ACTUALLY force sick people onto the Senate floor in a comical attempt to make sure their Justice gets confirmed. Or at leas tit's not a complete assurance that's happening.

 

[Gareth]

I'm not going to get my hopes up and just assume they're going to do it even if they have to be wheeled in.

 

[Vincent Alexander]

I'd love to get excited, but it won't happen. They'll break quarantine.

 

[ArkhamFantasy]

 

[Shadow of the Void]

Maybe there is a God.

Given how shitty this year has been, and how most of that is attributable to Republican ineptitude and callousness, it would be great if the cosmic scales balance out and the year ends much better than it began, with Trump getting voted out of office, the Senate GOP becoming the minority, RBG's Supreme Court seat remaining free and clear for Biden to fill, and the new systems turning out good and giving us some good entertainment to enjoy while we watch the GOP squirm.

 

[deepFlaw]

HIlarious that their own hypocrisy got them. If they hadn't decided they could ram through a Justice and stuck to their argument under Obama, who knows what might have happened instead?



The hell do these posts mean?

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This probably isn't going to be stopped on a technicality and the election is not a deadline; I think those posts are getting at the idea that they'd just send the sick senators in to vote anyway, regardless of how it affects the health of them or others. I'm not sure if I believe they'd do that, but I am also still a little doubtful that the Democrats as a whole will follow through on a plan that might come across as sneaky/underhanded. At the same time, I'm fully willing to believe that's overly pessimistic of me, and I'd of course be extremely glad if this somehow works out well; it is certainly fitting for it to be stopped like this.

Just gotta see it actually happen to believe it.

 

[thecouncil]

I'm sure they'll figure it out.

 

[TheDestructiveSquirrel]

It gets really draining to constantly read.


As evil as the GOP may seem I don't think they're about to ACTUALLY force sick people onto the Senate floor in a comical attempt to make sure their Justice gets confirmed. Or at leas tit's not a complete assurance that's happening.

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If sick Senators show up would other Republicans bail so they don't get exposed?

Could Senators wear full biohazard suits to vote?


Edit - Canadian parlaiment finally adopted remote voting after the leader of the opposition party that kept demanding in-person sessions got COVID, funny how that works when you are the party with infected people

 

[GillianSeed79]

They will ram it through no matter what, that much is for certain. Either now or before Jan. 1. The question is how will Democrats respond? I think what Biden should do is threaten to nuke the filibuster if we win and stack the courts if Republicans ram the nomination through. I honestly don't think Biden will pack the court though, so we have no leverage other than nuking the filibuster if we win. Even then the court is lost to us for another generation and they can strike down anything we pass.

 

[Contramann]

This probably isn't going to be stopped on a technicality and the election is not a deadline; I think those posts are getting at the idea that they'd just send the sick senators in to vote anyway, regardless of how it affects the health of them or others. I'm not sure if I believe they'd do that, but I am also still a little doubtful that the Democrats as a whole will follow through on a plan that might come across as sneaky/underhanded. At the same time, I'm fully willing to believe that's overly pessimistic of me, and I'd of course be extremely glad if this somehow works out well; it is certainly fitting for it to be stopped like this.

Just gotta see it actually happen to believe it.

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I think GOP Senators are too self-serving to "die for the cause" and have everyone been on board with forcing COVID carrying Senators on the floor. It would be even worse optics if in two weeks we get bombarded with more GOP Senators sick from that. Honestly, a lot of this feels like people's pessimism overriding their ability to reason.

 

[Van Bur3n]

God, the universe, man.

 

[Laser Ramon]

I don't know about y'all but my weekend has been great and I even work today

 

[El Bombastico]

I'm not celebrating until January 20th.

 

[8byte]

I mean, who's to say they won't drag their COVID carcass in and vote anyway?

 

[Deleted member 8257]

If these fucks still appoint Amy Barrett to supreme court AFTER losing the election, I swear to God Dems better rescind it. It is illegitimate.