NEW YORK – Following the Senate confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court, House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries released the following statement:

“The Republican-controlled Senate rushed to rubber stamp President Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court while they have refused to lift a finger to address the worsening public health crisis and ongoing economic recession. 

In the 164 days since House Democrats sent the Senate the Heroes Act to crush the coronavirus and extend meaningful relief to American families, over 135,000 souls have perished from this deadly virus. Some 20,000 of those deaths have occurred just in the recent weeks that Senate Republicans have spent fixated on this shameful confirmation process.

This gross negligence alone serves as proof positive that for President Trump and Senate Majority Leader McConnell, cruelty is the point. And yet, their cynical plan for this Supreme Court vacancy is somehow even more sinister. As the president just enthusiastically confirmed, their goal is to overturn the Affordable Care Act and rip away health care for millions of Americans while we are in the middle of a public health crisis. 

This is the horrific backdrop for today’s confirmation vote, the latest salvo in the years-long Republican crusade to take away our health care. Americans will cast their final judgment about the GOP’s willful cruelty at the polls over the next eight days.”