Congressional Democrats are airing their grievances after Senate Republicans voted to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.
But, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) says his Democratic colleagues would have moved to fill the seat if they were in power.
Speaking to reporters after the confirmation vote on Monday night, he said, âIf the shoe were on the other foot, they would have acted entirely within the Constitution and within the rules, just like we did.â
Watch the video below:
The Senate voted 52-48 in favor of Barrettâs confirmation, with all but one Republican senator voting in the affirmative and every Democrat voting against her confirmation.
It made history as the first confirmation vote for a Supreme Court justice that did not receive bipartisan support and the closest to a presidential election.
Shortly after the vote, Democrats took to Twitter to blast Republicans for filling the seat.
Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris tweeted, âRepublicans denied the will of the American people by confirming a Supreme Court justice through an illegitimate process.â
âWe wonât forget this,â she added.
And Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) called on her colleagues to increase the number of seats on the Supreme Court in retaliation for Barrettâs confirmation.
âRepublicans do this because they donât believe Dems have the stones to play hardball like they do. And for a long time, theyâve been correct. But do not let them bully the public into thinking their bulldozing is normal, but a response isnât,â she said in a tweet minutes after the vote.
While Ocasio-Cortez was open about how she would like Democrats to respond if they retake the upper chamber, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) was more opaque.
âThe Republican majority is lighting its credibility on fire. ⌠The next time the American people give Democrats a majority in this chamber, you will have forfeited the right to tell us how to run that majority,â he said.
Schumer added, âMy colleagues may regret this for a lot longer than they think.â
