How to stop Democrats from derailing Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation

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They really only have one valid card they can play, and Republicans can stop them from playing it if they're smart.

With several prominent Republicans, including the President and three Senators, having confirmed cases of COVID-19, many Democrats are calling for a hold on the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett. But their posturing is mostly moot as they do not have the power to stop it unless one thing happens.

On the latest episode of NOQ Report, Tammy and I discussed this play. What is it? They can't realistically stop the Senate Judiciary hearings despite two members currently quarantined. But even if they could, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell can call for a floor vote without even having the hearing.

The only way the Democrats can stop Barrett's confirmation is if more Republican Senators contract COVID-19 and are unable to appear on the Senate floor for the vote. If that's the case, all of the Democrats plus Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins can simply not show up to the hearing. They'd need someone to do a quorum call, but if 50 or fewer Senators are present, they will not be able to vote. Vice President Pence counts as a tie-breaker in the vote but does not count as a Senator present for quorum.

It's imperative that every Republican Senator stays quarantined from now until the vote. Seriously, folks, hermetically seal yourself away from the world. We cannot afford anyone to not be present or Democrats will play the quorum card.

Cantina Blues by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3474-cantina-blues
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/