U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden called Sunday for the Republican-controlled Senate to delay confirmation of President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, saying voters “are not going to stand for this abuse of power.” Biden said the Senate should delay action until after he or Trump is inaugurated in January for a new four-year term. But Trump has said that moving forward with his choice of Judge Amy Coney Barrett is his constitutional duty, even though no Supreme Court nominee has ever been put forth so close to a presidential election.Biden’s comments come as Democrats and Republicans moved to use the Supreme Court vacancy left by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to energize voters in the Nov. 3 election.”The Senate has to stand strong for our democracy,” Biden said at a brief news conference in his home state of Delaware. He said the Senate moving ahead on the Barrett nomination “would be an irreversible step toward the brink. And a betrayal of a single quality that America is born and built on: The people decide.” Should he win the election, Biden said the Barrett nomination should be withdrawn so he can make a pick. President Donald Trump walks with Judge Amy Coney Barrett to a news conference to announce Barrett as his nominee to the Supreme Court, in the Rose Garden at the White House, Sept. 26, 2020, in Washington.Despite Biden’s plea that the Senate “must not act on this nomination,” there is no indication that Republicans intend to delay the confirmation process. The Associated Press reported Sunday that three days of confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee could open Oct. 12. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has not yet said whether the Senate will vote before the election.
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