In response to the US Supreme Court nomination process, Abby Maxman, President of Oxfam America, made the following statement:
“The Senate must respect our country’s democratic process and not rush to confirm a new justice ahead of the next presidential inauguration. Americans have already begun to cast their ballots in this crucial election, and their wishes must be respected.
“People across the country are struggling in the face of the COVID pandemic, yet a Stimulus bill that could help so many is languishing in the Senate. Senators must prioritize urgent life-saving assistance instead of a rush job on a nomination.
“Since Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s passing, poll after poll has confirmed that Americans want the Senate to respect her dying wish and let the next president choose the nominee to replace her. We urge lawmakers to prioritize the voice of the American people over their own efforts to gain political power.
“Never before in US history has the Senate confirmed a Supreme Court nominee while votes were being cast in a presidential election. COVID-19 and its impact on our voting process increases the chance that the outcome of the election itself could be decided at the Supreme Court. This makes it even more inappropriate for the court’s composition to be altered at this moment, raising the specter of an effort to tamper with the levers of our democracy. The American people are in the midst of deciding who should represent them in Congress and the White House. They must be allowed to finish this process before a new justice is rushed through the confirmation process so that they can have their say on who should sit on our nation’s highest court.
”The Supreme Court will set the course for this nation’s future. Climate change, racial justice, corporate capture, income inequality, and a woman’s right to choose all hang in the balance, and the American people are voting as we speak to choose which direction they want the country to go. The Senate must give the country a chance to have its say.“