She took the long way around, opposing the process that brought her to this point, but US Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), said Saturday that she plans to vote to affirm the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the US Supreme Court.
Murkowski, who along with Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), and Mitt Romney (R-UT), complained openly that confirmation hearings were taking place so close to a General Election, is one of the perennial political thorns that pop up in votes seen as proceeding down party lines.
The Senator from Alaska took to the floor in a rare Saturday session of the Senate and said that while she still opposes the process, she does not hold it against Barrett. She praised Barrett who, she said, “navigated the gauntlet with grace, skill, and humility.”
“I believe that the only way to put us back on the path of appropriate consideration of judicial nominees is to evaluate Judge Barrett as we would want to be judged, on the merits of her qualifications. And we do that when that final question comes before us. And when it does, I will be a yes,” she said.
Barrett continued to heap praise on Barrett adding that the judge is the “sort of person that we want on the Supreme Court.”
“I have no doubt about her intellect,” Murkowski said. “I have no doubt about Judge Barrett’s judicial temperament. I have no doubt about her capability to do the job and to do it well.”
Today, I issued the following statement on the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to serve as the next Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (https://t.co/boM8FJQHZ4): pic.twitter.com/BiwHMBcLaL
— Sen. Lisa Murkowski (@lisamurkowski) October 24, 2020
That the Senate reconvened on Saturday to debate and advance Barrett’s nomination makes it possible for a final confirmation vote to take place on Monday, October 26, 2020.
Murkowski’s announcement leaves Sen. Collins of Maine as the only Republican senator who has declared a vote against the nominee.
Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), who sometimes breaks ranks with Democrats on key issues, has indicated he is marching lockstep with Democrats on the Barrett nomination.
