Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) put his frustration with Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s hearing on full display Monday during his opening statement— on day one of the Senate confirmation hearing for President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee.
Booker said in his remarks that the “rushed” Supreme Court nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett is “not normal” and declared, “I will not be voting to confirm Judge Barrett’s nomination”.
“Nothing about this today is normal. This is not normal!” Senator Booker claimed. “What is going on in America today, in the midst of a deadly pandemic and an ongoing election, having a rushed Supreme Court nomination hearing is not normal and we cannot normalize it.”
“People are voting right now. The American people should decide. The American people should decide. The American people should decide,” he reiterated. “I will not be voting to confirm Judge Barrett’s nomination.”
However, Breitbart fact-checked Booker’s claim in that the “rushed” Supreme Court nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett is “not normal.”
VERDICT: False. Several other former justices — including former Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, Justice John Paul Stevens, and Justice William Rehnquist — had their hearings begin shortly after the announcement of their respective nominations, Breitbart reported. Continued Below
Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) delivered his opening statement immediately after Booker, saying, “More than half of all Supreme Court hearings have been held within 16 days of the announcement of the nominee. This case is no different. A couple of examples. Justice Stevens, 10 days. Justice Rehnquist, 13 days. Justice Powell, 13 days. Justice Blackmun, 15 days. Justice Burger, 13 days.”
“These proceedings are following right along in the same kind of process that has historically been the process of the Senate,” he continued.
Senator Mike Crapo also addressed Booker’s argument that it is an election year, noting that a vacancy has “arisen in a presidential election year 29 times”. The Idaho Senator explained that the sitting president at the time made a nomination to fill the vacancy “every one of those 29 times.” Video Below
“Nineteen of those 29 times, the parties of the president and Senate majority were the same, and 17 of those 19 nominees were confirmed,” Senator Crapo said, adding, “By contrast, of the ten times of which the Senate was controlled by the party opposite to the president, only one time did the Senate that was not the party of the president proceed to fill that vacancy.”
“In fact, vacancies under a divided government, meaning a Senate and presidency from different parties, have not been filled for over 130 years going back to 1888,” Senator Crapo added, quashing Booker’s claims.
Senator Cory Booker’s remarks in part:
“Having a rushed Supreme Court nomination hearing is not normal and we cannot normalize it.”
— Democratic Sen. Booker on efforts by Republicans to nominate and confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court just weeks before the November presidential election pic.twitter.com/dGhvhBzJ3P
— PBS NewsHour (@NewsHour) October 12, 2020
Senator Mike Crapo fact-checked Booker’s claims:
