Amy Coney Barrett's nomination to the Supreme Court moved ahead on Thursday as the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to approve her, reports the AP. Every Democrat on the panel skipped the vote in protest, and every Republican voted yes. A full Senate confirmation vote is now on track for Monday, reports Politico. "That was their choice,” GOP committee chairman Lindsey Graham said of the Democrats' boycott. "It will be my choice to vote the nominee out of committee. We’re not going to allow them to take over the committee."
Democrats placed portraits of people who have benefited from ObamaCare in their empty seats for the vote, highlighting their fears that a court with a 6-3 conservative majority will dismantle the Affordable Care Act, per the Washington Post. Previously, Democrats argued that the panel’s vote would be invalid if they boycotted because committee rules require two members of the minority party to be present. Republicans countered that as long as a majority was present, the vote counts, and the Post points out the committee has "conducted business" without the minority-party threshold being met "more than a half dozen" times since 2006. The final tally was 12-0 on the 22-member committee. (More Amy Coney Barrett stories.)
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