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ACB confirmation: Hawaii senator Mazie Hirono says 'hell no' while voting against, Internet says 'stay classy'

Judge Barrett was confirmed to the Supreme Court by a 52-48 vote even as Republican Senator Susan Collins crossed the aisle to vote against the appointee

Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono raised eyebrows on Monday, October 26 as she told the Senate "hell no" and gave a thumbs down while casting her vote in Judge Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation to the Supreme Court. The Hawaii Democrat subsequently stormed off the floor while the roll call of the vote continued as scheduled. Judge Barrett was confirmed to the Supreme Court by a 52-48 vote. Republican Senator Susan Collins crossed the aisle to vote against the conservative appointee. Nonetheless, Barrett's confirmation has cemented the court's conservative leaning with a 6-3 majority for a long time, The Daily Mail reported.

"LGBTQ rights. Voting rights. Women’s equality. Health Care. These rights didn’t materialize out of thin air — they came after hard-fought battles," Hirono tweeted prior to casting her vote. "Judge Barrett’s radical views and her disregard for real-world impacts show #WhatsAtStake if she is confirmed to the Supreme Court."

Last month, Hirono outlined her reasons for why she wouldn't support the nomination of Judge Barrett in a lengthy Twitter thread. "I will not support the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court for the following reasons: She will vote to strike down the Affordable Care Act after being rushed on the Supreme Court in time to hear the case on November 10. Millions of Americans will lose their health care — catastrophic in the middle of a pandemic," Hirono tweeted. As her second reason, she said Judge Barrett had "a long history of being anti-choice and an explicit willingness to reverse SC precedent — endangering the protections of Roe v Wade. A woman's right to control her own body is at stake."

"The president expects her to support any challenge he mounts to the election results," Hirono added of Barrett, referring to Trump's strenuous opposition to mass 'unsolicited' mail-in ballots.

Following the confirmation, the progressive wing of the Democrat party — especially "squad" members  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar — expressed their wishes to "expand the court." "Republicans do this because they don't believe Dems have the stones to play hardball like they do. And for a long time they've been correct. But do not let them bully the public into thinking their bulldozing is normal but a response isn't. There is a legal process for expansion," Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. Her initial quote was reposted by Rep Omar, who wrote: "Expand the court."

Several left wing figures have embraced the idea of "packing" the Supreme Court in the wake of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's demise. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told MSNBC on October 26: "Should we expand the court, let's take a look and see." "President Trump and Senate Republicans have committed an act of supreme desperation: jamming through a Supreme Court nominee just eight days before Election Day as part of their years-long campaign to destroy Americans’ health care," she tweeted. "The President’s Supreme Court manipulation threatens the very values and rights that define and distinguish our nation," Pelosi added in a statement.

Trump's 2020 Democratic challenger Joe Biden also chimed in. "The rushed and unprecedented confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett as Associate Justice to the Supreme Court, in the middle of an ongoing election, should be a stark reminder to every American that your vote matters," he tweeted. Trump's third SCOTUS nominee was not in the chamber to watch the roll call vote, which would now allow her to join the ranks of eight justices on October 27. However, she was later sworn in as a Supreme Court justice on the White House South Lawn in front of the President by Associate Justice Clarence Thomas.