WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined Jake Tapper on CNN to discuss Republican efforts to confirm a Supreme Court justice, the upcoming Supreme Court case on the Affordable Care Act, and the need for COVID-19 relief.

“In the next few days, I'll continue to appeal both to the conscience of my colleagues here but also to the folks around the country who are watching who know what an outrage this is, who know this should not be a partisan exercise,” said Senator Coons.

Senator Coons added, “Majority Leader McConnell has had months to move a relief package for the COVID-19 pandemic and the recession and hasn't done so. I've gotten texts from a dozen different folks in Delaware today, not about this nominee, but about their small businesses, their jobs, their kids' schools. They're wondering why is McConnell not doing anything to move a package forward, but instead he is now moving heaven and earth to race through a nomination.”

Full audio and video available here. A transcript is provided below.

Q: So, Senator, as of today it appears Republicans do have enough Republican votes to pursue this nomination even before a nominee is named, even before the election. Do Democrats have any options that you are considering to stop this?

Sen. Coons: Well, Jake, this really is on Republicans. They are reversing themselves just four years after they set the precedent in 2016 of refusing to take up a hearing, to give a vote to President Obama's nominee Merrick Garland because he was nominated ten months before an election. We are now just 42 days before an election, in which I'll remind you, half of the states are already voting. In 25 states, there is early voting happening. So this really is on the majority party, on the Republicans. They are the ones who are going to jam this through the Judiciary Committee, jam it through the floor if that’s what happens. I'll remind you, Justice Ginsburg passed on Rosh Hashanah. She dictated to her granddaughter her dying wish which was that the voters would choose the next president, the next president her successor because she knows the consequences of who replaces her. Your reporter just referenced the case that will be in front of the Supreme Court a week after the election which will consider the Affordable Care Act. She said it affects 20 million Americans. It affects 100 million Americans in terms of the pre-existing condition discrimination protection. And given Justice Ginsburg's legacy, another key part of the Affordable Care Act is it prohibits discrimination by insurance companies based on gender. That's half of all Americans. So, frankly, what's on the ballot and what's at stake in this confirmation process is protections for half of all Americans.

Q: So, just to be clear when she said 20 million, I think she was referring to those who got through the Medicaid expansion have insurance because of Obamacare. Let me ask you, because obviously not every Republican senator said this, okay, but when Mitch McConnell talked about how he was not going to give Obama's nominee, Merrick Garland, a hearing, he said that one of the reasons for it was not just that it was an election year, but because the Senate was controlled by a different party than the White House–in other words, divided government. That's not operative here. Now I get a lot of people like Lindsey Graham and Marco Rubio when they talked about why they weren't going to give Merrick Garland a hearing, they didn't talk about the divided government part of this. But Mitch McConnell did. So, he specifically is not being inconsistent, is he? 

Sen. Coons: Well, Majority Leader McConnell is quite agile. And he has reframed and recast his justifications a number of times. Chairman Graham is one who specifically said, if four years from now Donald Trump is president and if we have a vacancy come up in the election year, we won't hold a hearing, we won't hold a vote. He's the one most directly responsible for moving us forward in the next couple of days. So, frankly, as you remember, Jake, there were dozens of Republicans who gave floor speeches and public statements about how important it was to make sure that the entire electorate had a say in an election which at that point was nine or ten months away. There is one precedent in American history where there was a vacancy this close to an election. Abraham Lincoln was president at that point, and he did not nominate someone to fill the seat. He let the electorate decide. I wish that my Republican colleagues would respect Justice Ginsburg's dying wish. And I will continue to work with him to see if there is any way that they will step back from this abyss, which I think will further divide our country, our Senate, and cause further challenges for the Supreme Court. 

Q: So it seems pretty clear several sources are telling CNN that Judge Amy Coney Barrett has emerged as President Trump's favorite, at least as of now. Putting aside her differing political views from yours, is she qualified? Is she a qualified potential nominee? 

Sen. Coons: Well, Jake, I would have to wait for there to be a nomination for me to begin reviewing her record and background and commenting on it. As you know, there are several others under consideration. And it, frankly, shouldn't come to this. Justice Ginsburg is going to be lying in repose in the Supreme Court the next two days. She will be lying in state in the Capitol. The first woman to do so, which is a fitting recognition of her lifetime of dedication to gender equality. I will consider the qualifications. But, frankly, we shouldn't be getting to this point. And in the next few days, I'll continue to appeal both to the conscience of my colleagues here but also to the folks around the country who are watching who know what an outrage this is, who know this should not be a partisan exercise. Majority Leader McConnell has had months to move a relief package for the COVID-19 pandemic and the recession and hasn't done so. I've gotten texts from a dozen different folks in Delaware today, not about this nominee, but about their small businesses, their jobs, their kids' schools. They're wondering why is McConnell not doing anything to move a package forward, but instead he is now moving heaven and earth to race through a nomination.

Q: There was a bill but Democrats blocked it from coming up, right? Because it wasn't strong enough.

Sen. Coons: Well, that wasn't just a skinny bill. That was an emaciated bill. I recognize there was a distance between what the White House said, over a trillion, and what Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, said. She and the House passed a $3.5 trillion bill. But what it was that Majority Leader McConnell put on the floor was a very small bill that had some protections for employers that, frankly, would've made it impossible for employees to ever get relief, even if they had irresponsible employers. 

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