405 State and Local Elected Officials Demand No Confirmation Until Inauguration

The letter calls for support for states and localities as they grapple with the pandemic and health care emergency, racial injustice, economic crisis, and current election

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts:
Katy Fleury, SiX Action, [email protected], 817-456-5315
Rafael Medina, The Leadership Conference, [email protected], 202.869.0390

Denver, Colorado – As case numbers of COVID-19 rise, 405 state and local leaders from 48 states and Washington, D.C., released a letter today demanding action on the urgent issues of the pandemic and economic crisis and for an end to the confirmation process of a new justice to the U.S. Supreme Court until after Inauguration Day.

“State and local leaders are at the frontlines of this pandemic, taking care of their communities and hearing every day from Americans who are worried about their health care,” said Hon. Jessie Ulibarri, SiX Action Co-Executive Director. “These public leaders are asking the Senate to listen to the American people and focus on getting our nation on the road to recovery from this health care crisis–not on rushing through a nominee that will end protections for preexisting conditions as COVID cases continue to surge across the country.”

“In the midst of a pandemic that is devastating the constituents and communities we serve, and an election where millions of Americans have already cast their vote for the next President of the United States, the U.S. Senate is rushing the confirmation of a nominee who jeopardizes our health care, reproductive access, and racial justice gains,” said Maryland State Delegate Jheanelle Wilkins. “The focus of Congress should be on providing relief to millions of struggling families.”

The letter, excerpted below, is available here.

“As state and local officials, we are on the front lines fighting alongside our communities to address the most urgent challenges facing our nation. We are in the worst public health and economic crises in a century. Over 210,000 Americans–disproportionately Black and Brown–have lost their lives to COVID-19, and the need for affordable and accessible health care is more acute than ever. Our communities mourn the deaths of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless other Black lives lost, and we are reckoning with the racism embedded in our nation’s institutions and culture. The Trump administration and U.S. Senate leadership should be focused on these urgent issues as well – providing our states, cities, and towns with the resources we need to save lives, save jobs, and save our democracy. It is shameful that, instead, the U.S. Senate is rushing through a nominee who is likely to eviscerate the Affordable Care Act and deprive millions of people of access to health care, destroy reproductive freedom by gutting Roe v. Wade, and suppress our right to vote, making it harder for Americans to have their voices heard in our democracy.”

The letter was coordinated by SiX Action, Local Progress, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, NOBEL Women, and Young Elected Officials (YEO).

###