McConnell told Trump to appoint Amy Coney Barrett the night Ginsburg died, says former chief of staff

On the night of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death, Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell reportedly encouraged President Donald Trump to appoint Judge Amy Coney Barrett to occupy the Ginsburg seat, according to a documentary from PBS which is scheduled to air Tuesday on the series. Frontline.

Barrett’s nomination was opposed by many Democrats who felt that no Supreme Court candidate had just been nominated before the 2020 presidential election. Democrats also backed down from Barrett’s conservative leanings, fearing that ” she can try to overturn the Affordable Care Act and Roe vs. Wade. According to McConnell’s former chief of staff Josh Holmes, McConnell spoke to Trump shortly after Ginsburg’s death.

“Said McConnell [Trump] two things, ”Holmes said in the documentary Supreme Revenge: Battle for the Court. “McConnell said, first, I’m going to issue a statement that says we’re going to fill the position. Second, he said, you have to appoint Amy Coney Barrett.”

Newsweek contacted McConnell’s office for comment.

Holmes served as McConnell’s chief of staff for three years before managing McConnell’s 2017 re-election campaign. Currently, Holmes is chairman of political consultancy Cavalry, LLC.

McConnell said in September that filling the Ginsburg seat was a “constitutional obligation” that would take place while Trump was still in office. “This current Senate, last elected in 2018, will be here until the end of the year and the president will be here until January 20,” McConnell said.

Some lawmakers disagreed with McConnell’s perceived haste to appoint Barrett. Republican Senator from Maine, Susan Collins, said the decision on a new Supreme Court judge “should be made by the president who is elected on Nov. 3.”

Many Democrats have pointed to McConnell’s previous blocking of President Barack Obama’s appointment of Judge Merrick Garland while Obama was in the final months of his administration. Obama appointed Garland to replace the late Judge Antonin Scalia in 2016. McConnell refused to advance Garland’s nomination until the election between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump ended.

“The American people may well elect a president who will decide to try Garland for Senate consideration,” McConnell said in March 2016. “The next president may also appoint someone very different. In any case, our point of view is this: give voice to the people. “

After Barrett’s appointment, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called the Republicans push to confirm Barrett as a “monument to hypocrisy” during ground remarks in October.

Despite opposition from Democrats, Barrett’s appointment was confirmed. On October 26, Barrett was sworn in as Deputy Supreme Court Justice in the White House by Justice Clarence Thomas.

“My fellow Americans,” Barrett said in his acceptance speech, “Even though we judges do not face an election, we still work for you. It is your Constitution that establishes the rule of law and the independence of justice which are so essential there. “