Democrats in the upper chamber of US Congress are set to to boycott a committee vote on Amy Coney Barrett's Supreme Court nomination.
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer and the Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee made the announcement in a joint statement Wednesday, calling the Republican attempts to put someone on the high court’s vacant seat a "sham process.”
"Fearing a loss at the ballot box, Republicans are showing that they do not care about the rules or what the American people want, but are concerned only with raw political power," read the statement. "We will not grant this process any further legitimacy by participating in a committee markup of this nomination just twelve days before the culmination of an election that is already underway.”
Some polls that show that support for confirming Barrett to the Supreme Court has risen after hearing, a clear hallmark of the liberals’ failure in the Senate hearing.
"Support for Barrett has risen eighteen points among Democrats, a clear sign that the hearings were a failure and a net gain for Barrett, McConnell and Republicans. Democrats signaled business as usual and lent legitimacy to an illegitimate process," Adam Jentleson, a staffer for former Senate majority leader Harry Reid, tweeted Wednesday.
The hearing, held earlier this month, laid bare hypocrisy and the dysfunctional democracy in the United States.
The GOP-held Senate refused to give Merrick Garland, President Barack Obama’s nominee, a fair hearing in 2016.
US President Donald Trump's nominee, in part, dodged questions on the GOP's apparent plan to abolish the Affordable Care Act soon after the November 3 election.
She also refused to agree to recuse herself if a case related to the election were before the high court after the November race.