Florida’s two U.S. senators–Republicans Marco Rubio and Rick Scott–are on board with President Donald Trump nominating Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Both Rubio and Scott weighed in on Saturday after Trump announced he was selecting Barrett to replace the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The Senate is expected to vote on the nomination at the end of October.
“Judge Barrett is a well-qualified, highly respected nominee, and that’s why the Senate previously confirmed her,” Rubio said. “She is also a person who is strong in her faith. Sadly, I expect my Democratic colleagues and the radical left to do all they can to assassinate her character and once again make an issue of her faith during her confirmation process. And in doing so, they will attempt to obstruct the Senate from fulfilling our constitutional duty of advice and consent. I believe Judge Barrett would make an excellent Supreme Court justice, and I look forward to once again supporting her nomination in the U.S. Senate.”
“I applaud President Trump’s nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. I am one of the few senators who has appointed people to the bench, and I believe in selecting candidates who respect the separation of powers and the proper role of the judiciary in our democratic system. Their job isn’t to make policy – it is to uphold the rule of law,” Scott said.
“Amy Coney Barrett has a distinguished record of service to our nation, respects the separate roles of our three branches of government and will apply and follow the law as written, not legislate from the bench. I look forward to meeting with her to hear more about her judicial philosophy and her views on the important legal issues of our time. And I hope the Senate can move swiftly to hold a vote to confirm her to the Supreme Court,” he added.
Democrats from the Sunshine State tore into the nomination and the GOP controlled Senate’s handling of it, contrasting it with how it stopped President Barack Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland in 2016.
“Trump and Senate Republicans are ruthlessly exploiting this vacancy amid an ongoing presidential election and a deadly health pandemic,” said U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla. “Senate Republicans, after refusing to confirm President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee eight months before an election are making this hypocritical power grab in clear defiance of the will of the American people, and an affront to people’s sense of fairness. At bottom, this craven court-packing push is fueled by Republicans‘ drive to dismantle health care protections that 135 million people with preexisting conditions, including me, rely upon, as well as to subvert reproductive rights. And Trump openly stated he wants his third pick to protect him if he loses the election. This will come to be regarded as an illegitimate lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court that erodes confidence in the institution, and one that voters will revolt against at the ballot box.”
Reach Kevin Derby at kevin.derby@floridadaily.com.
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