Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia met with Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett in the Capitol on Thursday evening, an aide told CNN, making him the first Democratic lawmaker to do so.
Manchin, who has already committed to voting against President Donald Trump’s nominee before the election, has said for days that he wanted to meet with Barrett and that he hoped his Democratic colleagues would too.
Manchin was the only Democratic senator to vote to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2018. But he has objected to Republicans trying to confirm a nominee before the 2020 election, saying the process is sowing further division in the country.
His Thursday meeting, which took place in Manchin’s hideaway office in the Capitol, lasted for about an hour, the aide said.
A number of Democrats have been weighing whether to meet with Barrett in recent days even as they’ve been outspoken that they won’t vote for her.
Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, a veteran member of the Judiciary Committee, suggested Thursday that he might talk with her. But he told CNN that the White House had reached out to set up a meeting while the body of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was lying in state, which he called “the most tasteless” move – “even coming from this administration.”
Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, who is also a member of the Judiciary Committee, has said he’d meet with Barrett. But when asked why he hasn’t met her yet, Durbin offered: “Haven’t been asked.” The Illinois Democrat said the White House had made a “general invitation that we’d like to meet with everybody.” But he added: “They haven’t contacted our office.”
Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, who also sits on the committee, said he’s still “mulling” whether to meet with Barrett.
Those deliberations come as Republicans have quickly rallied around Barrett while they push to cement a 6-3 conservative tilt on the high court.
Barrett garnered high praise from Republican senators during a visit to Capitol Hill earlier this week, with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell hailing her as a nominee that “could not be more fully qualified to serve on the Supreme Court.”
“I left our discussion even more convinced that President Trump has nominated exactly the kind of outstanding person whom the American people deserve to have on their highest court,” the Kentucky Republican said.
That message was echoed by Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa before he even met with Barrett. The veteran Judiciary Committee Republican told reporters that Barrett has “a good chance of getting my vote for the United States Senate.”
“I usually don’t say that until everything’s over, but Judge Barrett has quite a record to go on,” Grassley said.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, has said that the panel will vote on Barrett’s nomination on October 22, setting up a full Senate vote by the end of the month and before Election Day on November 3.
