Pro-Choice Caucus Co-Chairs Lee and DeGette, Pro-Choice Caucus Task Force, and 116 Members of Congress Urge Senate to Delay Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings until After Inauguration
Washington, D.C. – Today, Pro-Choice Caucus Co-Chairs Reps. Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Diana DeGette (D-CO) - along with 11 Pro-Choice Caucus Task Force Chairs - led a letter, signed by 116 members of the House, to Senate leaders once again urging them to delay confirming any Supreme Court nominee to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg until after the next president is sworn into office.
“As members of the Pro-Choice Caucus, we know that reproductive health, rights, and justice are at stake with this nomination,” the lawmakers wrote. “President Trump has repeatedly said he will only nominate justices who are hostile to abortion. During the 2016 election, President Trump campaigned on his commitment to nominating justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade. That is his litmus test and, based on her record and public statements, we know that Judge Barrett meets this test.”
In the letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Judiciary Ranking Member Diane Feinstein (D-CA), the lawmakers noted Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s desire to strike down rights for all Americans, including reproductive freedoms and affordable health care.
“Judge Barrett’s record shows she is a clear and present threat to Roe and reproductive freedom,” the lawmakers wrote. “She has publicly opposed abortion and ascribes to such extreme views that she could also call into question the legality of certain forms of birth control and fertility care. She has suggested that Roe is an “erroneous decision,” stated that life begins at conception, sided with states trying to restrict abortion access, and joined anti-choice groups in voicing opposition to the Affordable Care Act’s coverage of contraception. Should she be confirmed, Judge Barrett would radically endanger our fundamental rights for decades to come.”
The letter was co-led by Pro Choice Caucus Task Force Chairs U.S. Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Jackie Speier (D-CA), Ted Deutch (D-FL), Katherine Clark (D-MA), Julia Brownley (D-CA), Judy Chu (D-CA), Norma Torres (D-NY), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Suzan DelBene (D-WA) and comes ahead of next week’s scheduled confirmation hearings for Judge Amy Coney Barrett.
In addition, the letter was signed by Gerald Connolly (D-VA), Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Sean Casten (D-IL), Joyce Beatty (D-OH), Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Andy Levin (D-MI), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Joseph Morelle (D-NY), Joseph P. Kennedy, III (D-MA), James McGovern (D-MA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC). Gwen Moore (D-WI), Dina Titus (D-NV), André Carson (D-IN), Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ), Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL), Lois Frankel (D-FL), John Sarbanes (D-MD), Alma Adams (D-NC), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Nita Lowey (D-NY), David Trone (D-MD), Mike Levin (D-CA), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Lori Trahan (D-MA), Mark Pocan (D-WI), Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA), Susan Wild (D-PA), Gilbert Cisneros (D-CA), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), Mark Takano (D-CA), Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), Deb Haaland (D-NM), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Mike Thompson (D-NY), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Ed Case (D-HI), Donald Beyer (D-VA), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Bradley Schneider (D-IL), Hank Johnson (D-GA), Alan Lowenthal (D-CA), Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA), Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), Sylvia Garcia (D-TX), Veronica Escobar (D-TX), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Darren Soto (D-FL), Jerry McNerney (D-CA), William Keating (D-MA), Danny Davis (D-IL), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Dan Kildee (D-MI), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Steve Cohen (D-TN), David Price (D-NC), Grace Meng (D-NY), Peter Welch (D-VT), Donald Payne (D-NJ), Rick Larsen (D-WA), Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA), Donna Shalala (D- FL), Bill Foster (D-FL), Mike Doyle (D-PA), Adam Smith (D-WA) Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Albio Sires (D-NJ), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Marcia L. Fudge (D-OH), Kathy Castor (D-FL), Jennifer Wexton (D-VA), Betty McCollum (D- MN), Brian Higgins (D-NY), Brenda Lawrence (D-MI), Jason Crow (D-CO), Derek Kilmer (D-WA), Kathleen Rice (D-NY), Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), David Cicilline (D-RI), Anthony Brown (D-MD) Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Madeleine Dean (D-PA), Doris Matsui (D-CA), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA, Steven Horsford (D-NV), Susan Davis (D-CA), Tony Cárdenas (D-CA), John Yarmuth (D-KY), David Scott (D-GA), Linda Sánchez (D-CA), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Marc Veasey (D-TX), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Al Lawson (D-FL), Bobby L. Rush (D-IL), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Brendan Boyle (D-PA), Denny Heck (D-WA), Seth Moulton (D-MA), Ami Bera (D-CA), Frederica Wilson (D-FL), A. Donald McEachin (D-VA), Scott Peters (D-CA), Colin Allred (D-TX), Jesús G. “Chuy” Garcia (D-IL), Jared Huffman (D-CA), Kim Schrier (D-WA).
To read the full text of the letter, click here.