Washington: Republicans lawmakers the US Senate Judiciary Committee have voted to advance the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett, President Donald Trump's replacement for late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, to the Supreme Court despite a boycott by Democrats.
Pictures of people who rely on the Affordable Care Act were placed on the empty seats for the Democratic senators on the panel, a reminder of the Democrats' argument that if Barrett, a conservative judge, were to be installed on the high court, the Obama-era health care law will very likely be repealed as the court hears the case on its constitutionality on November 10, one week after Election Day.
Read:|GOP-led Senate panel advances Barrett despite Dems' boycott
"That was their choice," said Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, referring to the Democrats' decision to boycott the hearing.
"It will be my choice to vote the nominee out of committee. We're not going to allow them to take over the committee.
"I've never seen anyone more capable than Judge Barrett," said Graham, whose 11 fellow Republicans on the panel also unanimously voted to approve the nomination.