The upcoming Senate Judiciary hearings for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, 48, for a position on the Supreme Court will begin on Monday, October 12, Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsay Graham (R-SC) revealed Saturday evening.
The hearings will last between three to four days and follow the format that has been used for recent Supreme Court nominees, the chairman’s office said in a statement.
Barrett, who is currently on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, will give her opening statement on the first day of the hearings, as will the members of the judiciary committee. The questioning phase will begin on October 13, and legal experts and “those who know Judge Barrett the best” will offer testimony at a later date, said the statement.
During a Saturday appearance on Fox News with Jeannine Pirro, Graham said that Barrett will face challenges in the committee — as he notes all potential justices should — but cautioned Democrats against treating her “like they did Justice Kavanaugh.”
“It’s going to blow up in their faces big time,” Graham told Pirro of any attempts at derailment, later saying: “If they continue this pattern of trying to demean this outstanding nominee, I think the American people will push back and push back hard.”
“Kavanaugh really did help Republicans pick up Senate seats because they went too far,” he added.
Under the current timeline, Graham said he hopes to have Barrett out of the Senate Judiciary Committee by October 26, at which point Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) would take over the process.
President Donald Trump officially nominated Barrett to fill the Supreme Court vacancy on Saturday afternoon, praising her as “a woman of unparalleled achievement, towering intellect, sterling credentials, and unyielding loyalty to the Constitution.”
McConnell praised Barrett in a statement Saturday afternoon for securing “national admiration for her shining example of strong female leadership at the very top of her field.” He also said that he plans to bring Barrett’s nomination to the Senate floor for a vote after the judiciary committee process has finished.
“The Court, the Senate, and the American people—not to mention the nominee and her family—deserve a fair process that is focused on Judge Barrett’s qualifications,” added McConnell in the statement. “I hope all 100 Senators will treat this serious process with the dignity and respect it should command.”
In a statement, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), the ranking member of the judiciary committee, said that the Senate should not be filling a Supreme Court vacancy with the presidential election a little more than a month away.
As The Daily Wire previously reported, Democratic senators allegedly tried to throw Feinstein under the bus ahead of the confirmation hearings, with three of them reportedly telling Politico, under the condition of anonymity, that they feared she would botch the process.
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