WASHINGTON: Republican senators meeting with U.S. Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett on Tuesday praised President Donald Trump’s pick for the lifetime post, rejecting Democrats’ assertion that she should recuse herself from potential election-related cases.
Barrett began holding the customary meetings with individual senators that precede Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings, making Majority Leader Mitch McConnell her first stop. A favorite of religious conservatives, Barrett stood silently for reporters and TV cameras, flanked by Vice President Mike Pence and McConnell.
Senator Lindsay Graham, the Republican committee chairman who met with Barrett later in the day, said she should not recuse herself if she is confirmed and the justices are called upon to decide disputes arising from the Nov. 3 election in which Trump is seeking a second term in office.
“I think…