参议院司法委员会的一名关键成员和参议院第二号民主党人周日承认，民主党人没有真正的权力在11月选举前阻止对唐纳德·特朗普总统提名的最高法院法官进行投票。
伊利诺伊州参议员迪克·德宾在“本周”节目中对美国广播公司首席新闻主播乔治·斯特凡诺普洛斯说:“我们可以在几个小时内，最多几天内，让它慢下来。”“但我们不能阻止结果。”
共和党人正在推动特朗普提名的快速确认过程，艾米·科尼·巴雷特法官，取代已故的鲁斯·巴德·金斯伯格大法官。参议院司法委员会主席林赛·格雷厄姆(Lindsey Graham)表示，听证会将于10月12日开始，他希望提名将于10月26日退出委员会，民主党人批评了这一时间表。
在谴责她的提名时，杜宾说他将会见巴雷特，并拒绝了抵制她的确认听证会的呼吁。包括康涅狄格州参议员理查德·布卢门塔尔(Richard Blumenthal)和夏威夷参议员马齐·广野(Mazie Hirono)在内的几位司法委员会民主党人宣布，他们不会会见巴雷特。
“自从我在参议院任职以来，我见过每一位最高法院提名人。杜宾说:“如果她提出要求，我会提供这种礼貌，至少是一次社交距离、安全的会面，也许是通过电话。”。“我要毕恭毕敬。我们在一些事情上有分歧。就参加参议院司法委员会听证会而言，我会尽职尽责。”
在斯特凡诺普洛斯的压力下，德宾也对巴雷特确认过程合法化的担忧不予理会。
“我们在谈论一个人，她将在这个国家的最高法院度过余生，我对此很认真，”他说。
亚历克斯·布兰登/路透社泳池
2020年9月23日，华盛顿，美国最高法院大楼前台阶顶部，参议员迪克·德宾在鲁斯·巴德·金斯伯格法官安息的时候向他致敬。
杜宾说，他想“直截了当”地问巴雷特关于她对结束《平价医疗法案》的立场，这是许多民主党人共同关心的问题，他引用了她在以前的一个关于医疗法案的案例中对首席大法官约翰·罗伯特的意见的批评。
这位伊利诺伊州资深参议员还告诉斯特凡诺普洛斯，如果民主党在11月赢得参议院的支持，规则的改变是可能的。一些，大部分是声音马萨诸塞州参议员埃德·马基，因为共和党人阻止了奥巴马提名的法官梅里克·加兰，现在要求对巴雷特进行投票表决。
“米奇·麦康奈尔已经接管了参议院，并将其变成了一个甚至与审议和立法机构都不亲近的机构，”杜宾说。“我们需要确保无论未来的程序是什么，我们都要进入正题，卷起袖子，解决影响这个国家的问题。”
特朗普本周表示，他希望他的提名人在选举前进入最高法院，以便他们能够就潜在的挑战做出裁决，杜宾回应了他的政党中许多人要求巴雷特在出现这种情况时回避的呼吁。
“我当然希望她会，这会有所帮助，”他说。"这将证明一个事实，即她希望公平地解决这个问题."
但是当斯特凡诺普洛斯就前民主党候选人希拉里·克林顿对乔·拜登的呼吁向他发出挑战时在选举中不认输，他强烈不同意克林顿的评论。
克林顿上个月告诉Showtime的《马戏团》，她认为总统会使用缺席投票来破坏选举结果，此后她向拜登提出了建议。
她在采访中说:“乔·拜登在任何情况下都不应该让步，因为我认为这将会拖长，最终我相信如果我们不让步，如果我们像对方一样专注和无情，他会赢。”
“我尊重她，我喜欢她。但我认为她完全错了，”杜宾说。"选举本身将被宣布，获胜者将在某个时候被宣布。"
“如果我们要保持民主，通过选举实现和平过渡是唯一的方法，”杜宾说。“不管是谁赢了，如果是明确合法的，那就应该宣布，对方应该退让。”
Sen. Dick Durbin says Democrats 'can't stop the outcome' of Supreme Court nomination
A key member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the number two Democrat in the Senate acknowledged Sunday that Democrats have no real power to stop a vote on President Donald Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court before November's election.
"We can slow it down perhaps a matter of hours, maybe days at the most,” Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos on "This Week.” “But we can't stop the outcome."
Republicans are pushing for a quick confirmation process for Trump's nominee,Judge Amy Coney Barrett,to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said hearings would begin Oct. 12, and that he hoped the nomination would be out of committee by Oct. 26, a timeline Democrats have criticized.
While denouncing her nomination, Durbin said he would meet with Barrett, and rejected calls to boycott her confirmation hearings. Several Judiciary Committee Democrats, including Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono, have announced they will not meet with Barrett.
"I've met with every Supreme Court nominee since I've been in the Senate. I will extend that courtesy, if she requests it, for at least a socially distanced, safe meeting, perhaps over the phone," Durbin said. "I want to be respectful. We disagree on some things. And in terms of participating in the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, I'll be there to do my job."
Durbin also dismissed concerns about legitimizing Barrett's confirmation process when pressed by Stephanopoulos.
"We're talking about someone who will be on the highest court in the land for the remainder of her life, and I take that seriously," he said.
Sen. Dick Durbin pays his respects as Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg lies in repose under the Portico at the top of the front steps of the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, Sept. 23, 2020.
Durbin said he wants to ask Barrett "point-blank" about her position on ending the Affordable Care Act, a concern many Democrats share, citing her criticism of Chief Justice John Robert's opinion in a previous case on the health care bill.
The senior Illinois senator also told Stephanopoulos that a change to rules was on the table if Democrats won back the Senate in November. Some, most vocallyMassachusetts Sen. Ed Markey,have called for the elimination of the filibuster and adding seats to the Supreme Court, because Republicans blocked Obama's nominee Judge Merrick Garland and are now demanding a vote on Barrett.
"Mitch McConnell has taken the Senate and turned it into something that is not even close to a deliberative and legislative body," Durbin said. "We need to make sure that whatever the procedure is in the future, that we get down to business, roll up our sleeves, and address the issues that affect this country."
undefinedAfter Trump said this week he wanted his nominee on the Supreme Court by the election so they could rule on potential challenges, Durbin echoed calls by many in his party for Barrett to recuse herself in the event that situation arose.
"I certainly wish she would, it would help matters," he said. "And it would evidence the fact that she wants to be fair in addressing this."
But when Stephanopoulos challenged him on former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's call for Joe Bidento not concede the election, he strongly disagreed with Clinton's comments.
Clinton's advice to Biden came after she told Showtime's "The Circus" last month she thought the president would use absentee ballots to discredit the election results.
"Joe Biden should not concede under any circumstances because I think this is going to drag out, and eventually I do believe he will win if we don't give an inch and if we are as focused and relentless as the other side is," she in the interview.
"I respect her, I like her. But I think she's just flat-out wrong," Durbin said. "The election itself is going to be announced, the winner will be announced at some point."
"If we are going to maintain a democracy, peaceful transition through an election is the only way to do it," Durbin said. "Whoever the winner is, if it is clear and legal, that should be announced and the other party should concede."
