Republicans push to confirm Supreme Court pick Amy Coney Barrett despite Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis
- Democrats urge caution as full extent of lawmakers’ potential exposure from president’s Covid-19 infection remains unknown
- Judiciary Committee lawmaker Mike Lee and University of Notre Dame president John Jenkins, who attended Barrett’s nomination event, have also tested positive
Senate Republicans said on Friday they will carry on with the confirmation process for US Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett despite President Donald Trump’s positive Covid-19 test, with Judiciary Committee hearings still set to begin on October 12.
“I think we can move forward,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt, even as senior Democrats urged caution.
The Republican president has asked that the Senate confirm Barrett, a federal appeal court judge, by the November 3 election, which would forge a 6-3 conservative majority on the top US judicial body.
“Our biggest enemy, obviously, is … the coronavirus, keeping everybody healthy and well and in place to do our job,” McConnell added.
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World leaders wish Trump and Melania speedy recovery from Covid-19
Barrett herself tested positive for the virus earlier this year and has since recovered, according to a person familiar with the matter.