As Supreme Court Hearings Begin, SF Activists Call on Feinstein to Reject and Delay Them

Activists rallied outside the San Francisco office of Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Monday, demanding that she and other Senate Democrats refuse to hold confirmation hearings for Amy Coney Barrett, President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, until after the presidential inauguration in January.

The hearings — which began in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday — could result in Barrett filling the seat left vacant following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Sept. 18. If confirmed, Barrett's appointment would result in a 6-3 conservative majority on the high court.

The Senate, led by Trump’s GOP allies, is pushing Barrett’s nomination to a quick vote before Election Day and ahead of the the latest challenge to the Affordable Care Act, which the Supreme Court is set to hear just one week after the election. Since Republicans have all the votes they need to move ahead with confirming Barrett, there's little Democrats can do to stop it.

Republicans also hope to seat Barrett quickly enough to hear any legal challenges after the election. Several Democratic senators demanded that Barrett pledge not to take part in any election case. She has made no such commitment.

"We're here to tell Sen. Feinstein and the Democrats that our eyes are on them – they must do everything in their power to stop Barrett's nomination from moving forward," activist and Richmond City Council member Melvin Willis said in a statement ahead of Monday's protest.

"The president has refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the election, and Barrett's nomination makes this scenario even more plausible. A court with Barrett will not protect our votes; it will protect Trump's desire to stay in power. We're calling on Democratic leaders to safeguard the American people's right to choose our president by stopping this nomination," Willis said.

In an opening statement at Monday's confirmation hearing, Sen. Feinstein, who is the Senate Judiciary Committee's top Democrat, said the Senate "should not be moving forward on this nomination" until the election is over and the next president has taken office. She did not indicate any intention to boycott or otherwise attempt to stymie this week's hearings.

“Health care coverage for millions of Americans is at stake with this nomination,” Feinstein said.

Referencing critical comments Judge Barrett made about a previous ruling upholding the ACA, Feintein said "This well could mean that, if Judge Barrett is confirmed, Americans stand to lose the benefits that the ACA provides." Addressing Barrett, she added, "I hope you will clarify that in this hearing."

In recent years, 87 year-old Feinstein has angered some California progressives for being too collegial and bipartisan at a time when many Democrats are ready to fight. And some state Democrats had doubts about her ability to lead a fight against Barrett's nomination.

"These Democrats are going to expect our blue votes for this state, we expect them to show up for us and act like the fighters that we need them to be," said activist Tracey Corder at Monday's protest. "We are demanding that Dianne Feinstein stand up, stop laying down for these Republicans. Stop acting like it's business as usual and fight for us."

Willis called on Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Kamala Harris, who also sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, to publicly reject the hearings and to use every "procedural block to jam processes and delay proceedings."

Harris, in her own opening statement, also focused largely on the ACA and said Republicans "are trying to bypass the will of the voters and have the Supreme Court do their dirty work."

"This is not business as usual — this is a power grab," Willis said at Monday's protest. "[Senate Republicans] are not thinking about the millions of people across this country that have been impacted by COVID, who have lost jobs, lost their housing and wages, and who have accumulated debt. We need to be talking about relief for our community members, not this Supreme Court nomination until inauguration."

Jennifer Epps-Addison, an activist with the Center for Popular Democracy, also took issue with the Senate's focus on confirming Barrett versus taking up further economic relief for Americans impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It is outrageous that Republicans are moving this confirmation forward while tens of millions of people have lost their jobs," she said. "But I'm not mad at Republicans because they are telling us exactly who they are. None of us are surprised. What I'm more upset about is Democrats who are treating this hearing as business as usual."

KQED's David Marks and The Associated Press contributed to this story.