Dems cry to delay court hearings

Senate Democrats repeated calls for hearings for President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee to be postponed, saying the recent spread of the virus among some of their Republican colleagues drives home the urgency of their safety concerns.

“The president’s own coronavirus infection, spread to the Senate, as well as a deficient contact tracing process must serve as a reality check for [Senate Majority Leader Mitch] McConnell to once and for all prioritize public health and science over politics,” Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement.

Last week, three Republican senators tested positive for the dreaded virus. “Ignoring the risk, turning a blind eye to what the experts tell us and failing on transparency will not make the coronavirus go away,” Schumer continued. “Instead, those actions will only allow the virus to continue its spread. This will keep on happening in and around the Capitol if we continue with business as usual.”

McConnell has said the Senate won’t meet this coming week, but insists Republicans will still work to confirm Amy Coney Barrett (inset) to the Supreme Court before the Nov. 3 presidential election.

“It’s very possible we’re going to have more senators, more staff” test positive, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said on “Fox News Sunday.” “So I don’t know why you would ram through this Supreme Court hearing, put people in danger because it would be within that twoweek period, while you have shut down the whole Senate.”

Klobuchar said virtual hearings of the Senate Judiciary Committee wouldn’t cut it.

“This is for the highest court of the land and yes, we have had virtual hearings,” she said, “but you need to be able to go back and forth with the nominee.”