Schumer Floor Remarks On Moving the Senate To A Closed Session Before Senate Republicans Make A Colossal And Historic Mistake By Confirming Judge Amy Coney Barrett To The Supreme Court Days Before A Presidential Election Day

Washington, D.C. — Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor and moved the Senate to a rare closed session. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks:

I believe the Senate Majority is on the precipice of making a colossal and historic mistake.

By rushing this nomination through the Senate only 8 days before a national election, after 50 million Americans have already voted, the Republican majority is steering the Senate, the Supreme Court, and the country in a very dangerous direction.

The damage to Americans’ faith in these institutions could be lasting.

So, before we go any further, we should shut off the cameras, close the Senate, and talk face to face about what this might mean for the country.

We need to restore public trust in our institutions, not continue to undermine it. The Senate majority may have the power to confirm this nomination before the election, but that does not make it right.

Might does not make it right.

We ought to have a candid conversation, Senator to Senator, in which we truly listen to each other, before it’s too late.

So I am making a motion to move to closed session in accordance with Rule XXI, I now move that the Senate go into closed session.

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