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Trump Campaign Press Release - FACT CHECK: There Have Been 29 Supreme Court Nominations In An Election Year

September 29, 2020

Precedent is on the side of confirming Amy Coney Barrett.

Joe Biden is falsely claiming there is no precedent to confirm a Supreme Court justice in an election year.

Not only has Joe Biden himself previously said he would go forward to confirm a nominee in an election year, but precedent shows she should be confirmed:

  • There have been 29 prior vacancies during election years or a lame-duck period and in all cases, the president nominated a justice.

  • 17 out of 19 times the Senate has confirmed the President's Supreme Court nominee in an election year when the president's party controls the Senate, as it does today.

The timeline for Judge Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation aligns with past confirmations:

  • Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was confirmed in 42 days.

  • Justice Sandra Day O'Connor was confirmed in 33 days.

  • Justice John Paul Stevens was confirmed in 19 days.

Donald J. Trump, Trump Campaign Press Release - FACT CHECK: There Have Been 29 Supreme Court Nominations In An Election Year Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/344007

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