Sen. Merkley Blasts Rule-Breaking Supreme Court Confirmation Stacking Court, Warns of Backlash

WASHINGTON, Oct. 27 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following statement on Oct. 26:

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Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement today slamming President Trump and Senate Republicans for the dangerous and rule-shattering nomination and confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court:

"Senate Republicans have broken rules and shattered precedents to stack the Supreme Court with right-wing extremist justices. Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, and the rest of the Senate Republicans are tearing apart our country to make the elites they represent even more wealthy and powerful, and the repercussions will echo for years to come.

"The goal of this nomination is clear. For years, this impeached president and out-of-touch Senate Republicans have been angling to tear the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to shreds. Having failed in Congress, they've turned to the courts over and over again. In a video Donald Trump released himself last week, he even said, plain and simple, that he'd like to see the Supreme Court overturn the ACA. And now the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett brings that twisted wish one key step closer to becoming reality. A Trump-backed lawsuit to throw out the entire law will be before the Court just two weeks from now.

"Quality, affordable health care was on the ballot today. If the court strikes down the ACA, 20 million Americans will lose their health care; millions of Americans will lose protections for preexisting conditions; every American will lose their health care bill of rights. Reproductive rights, including the right to birth control and IVF, were also on the ballot. So were Americans' rights to vote, to live in a clean and healthy environment, to marry the person you love, and to be protected from discrimination in schools, workplaces, stores, and restaurants.

"The majority of my colleagues voted today to strip away people's health care and freedoms, unleash bigotry and discrimination, and hand out free passes for huge corporations, megapolluters, and election-riggers. They voted to make sure our government is not, in fact, of, by, and for the people.

"Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, and their loyal followers in the Senate are complicit in a disturbing, thirty-year long scheme--propped up by hundreds of millions of dollars in contributions from radical dark money groups--to rig our courts in favor of the powerful and privileged. These elites and the Republican politicians who work for them are, not surprisingly, unable to persuade the American people that they are best served by allowing a tiny number of people to get impossibly wealthy while ordinary Americans struggle. Or by building a health care system designed to make pharmaceutical and insurance companies money instead of keeping Americans healthy. Or by perpetuating systemic racism that gives more power and opportunity and wealth and security to white Americans than people of color. So they have rigged the courts to overturn or gut laws they don't like and undermine Americans' ability to vote, so Republicans can hang on to power despite the voters' preferences.

"I believe in the first three words of our Constitution: We the People. The vision of equality and opportunity and justice that underlies those words has been a beacon inspiring Americans for 233 years. Those three words have challenged generations of patriots to shine a light on our country's deep failings and prompt us to do better. That vision is more powerful than the twisted corruption of government by and for the powerful that today's vote represents. Senate Republicans may think they have won a great victory today, but by putting the insatiable thirst for power and wealth ahead of our We the People vision, they are undermining the forces that have held our country together. The American people will not and should not roll over while their hard work is discounted, their health is savaged, their votes are stolen, and their freedoms are compromised."