Covid-19 Shutters Senate But Republicans Refuse to Delay Barrett Confirmation

The Senate is shut down by COVID-19 infections, but Republicans are refusing to delay confirmation of President Donald Trump's pick for the Supreme Court. They are even willing to make special arrangements so sick senators can vote, and Democrats appear powerless to stop them.

The push to put conservative Judge Amy Coney Barrett on the high court before Nov. 3 is like nothing seen in U.S. history so close to a presidential election.

"The Senate has spent the last few days, like all Americans have, praying for quick healing and smooth recovery for President Trump and the first lady following their positive COVID-19 tests," said Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell.

McConnell said he had spoken twice to the president over the weekend, as he was being treated at the Walter Reed Medical Center.

"The standard cliché would say that these past few days have provided a stark reminder of the dangers of this terrible virus,"McConnell said. "But the truth is that our nation did not need any such reminder. More than 209,000 of our fellow citizens have lost their lives."

Trump's nomination of Barrett in a Rose Garden ceremony apparently became ground zero for the infections now gripping the president, his White House and its Senate allies. Three GOP senators, including Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson, have now tested positive for the virus and several more are quarantined at home - denying Republicans a functioning majority.

The rapid pursuit of Trump's third court nominee is as much about securing a conservative court for a generation to come as it is about giving Republicans what they see as their best chances at reelection.

McConnell announced the chamber would close to legislating through Oct. 19 over the COVID-19 infections, but the court hearings will go on as scheduled. With Trump trailing Democrat Joe Biden in polls and their own Senate majority at risk, Republicans hope a Supreme Court vote in the week before Election Day will save their jobs.

As the COVID-19 crisis envelops the Capitol, hearings are set to begin in one week on Barrett’s nomination. There is still no mandatory, routine, on-site testing protocol for lawmakers and staff, drawing a near revolt from staff in some offices worried about the health risks. The Judiciary Committee is planning four days of hearings ahead of a final Senate vote Oct. 29.

Senators on the Judiciary Committee will have the option of connecting virtually, which will be needed as two of the panel's Republicans, Sen. Mike Lee of Utah and Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, are among those diagnosed with COVID-19. Many House and Senate panels have been operating in a hybrid capacity during the pandemic.

Voting, however, is a different matter. The Judiciary Committee technically requires a presence from senators voting to send the Barrett nomination to the full Senate for confirmation. But the committee, controlled by Republicans, could potentially alter its rules to accommodate the quarantined senators.

The floor vote, expected the week of Oct. 26, provides another hurdle. McConnell has a slim margin, 53-47, meaning with three GOP senators now infected with COVID-19, and others home isolating, he would need to rely on Vice President Mike Pence to break a tie vote.

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