Pelosi Argues No ‘Equivalence’ When Asked If Amy Coney Barrett is ‘Owed’ a Vote Like Merrick Garland Was
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asserted its impossible to argue that Judge Amy Coney Barrett is “owed” a confirmation vote to the Supreme Court, just as Merrick Garland was owed back in 2016.
Pelosi joined CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday to react to President Donald Trump officially nominating Barrett to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg in light of the justice’s passing. The interview began with Pelosi deflecting questions about Barrett’s qualifications for the bench. Instead, Pelosi blasted Barrett as part of Trump’s agenda to dismantle the Affordable Care Act in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, plus she ripped the president for rushing the nomination through on the verge of the 2020 election.
“This is unfortunate that the president would be so disrespectful and rush into this. But, nonetheless, it’s what it is,” Pelosi said.
From there, Tapper brought up the comparisons that have been made between Ginsburg’s passing and the judicial battle that transpired after Justice Antonin Scalia died in 2016.
“In 2016 you said that Republicans were showing ‘a disrespect for the Constitution,'” Tapper said. “You said that Judge Garland was, ‘owed a vote‘ in the Senate. If judge Garland was owed a vote, then isn’t Judge Barrett owed one as well?”
“When did Justice Scalia pass away?” Pelosi responded. Tapper answered “February,” and Pelosi continued “This is now September, so the time frame is quite different that this court would go that long a time without a justice.”
“I don’t see any equivalence in what you are presenting,” she went on.
Watch above, via CNN.
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