Booker suggests Amy Coney Barrett will 'delegitimize' SCOTUS if she doesn't recuse herself from election-related cases

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) suggested Sunday that Amy Coney Barrett will "delegitimize" the Supreme Court if she does not preemptively recuse herself from cases related to the 2020 election. 

What's the background?

After Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) explained why confirming a new Supreme Court justice prior to the election is crucial.

"Democrats and Joe Biden have made clear, they intend to challenge this election, they intend to fight the legitimacy of the election," Cruz said. "We cannot have Election Day come and go with a 4-4 court."

"A 4-4 court that is equally divided cannot decide anything. And I think we risk a constitutional crisis if we do not have a nine justice Supreme Court, particularly when there's such a risk of a contested litigation and a contested election," the Texas senator explained.

What did Booker say?

Despite Cruz's warning, Booker suggested on NBC's "Meet the Press" that Barrett, if confirmed prior to Election Day, should not have a say in any election-related case.

"I'm going to make it very clear. One of the things I want to ask her is will she recuse herself, in terms of any election issues that come before us, because if she does not recuse herself, I fear that the court will be further delegitimized."

Booker then turned to bash President Donald Trump.

"In other words, President Trump has said, 'I will not accept the result of the election unless I win. I'm going to push it to the Supreme Court, and oh, by the way, during the election I'm going to put somebody on the court, as well.' So I hope to have a conversation with her, and I'm blessed to be on the [Senate] Judiciary Committee, and I'll have that, as well. And hopefully, I'll have a good, informed dialogue back and forth," Booker said.

Booker went on to claim the Republican Party, by supporting Barrett's nomination, is "undermining their legitimacy, the legitimacy of the Supreme Court."

Democrats are working overtime to delegitimize Barrett's nomination. They're claiming her nomination is part of a power-grab by the president, and that she would take health care away from Americans.

However, there remain some honest Democrats who admit that, despite disagreeing with Barrett's judicial philosophy or the circumstances of her nomination, she remains "highly qualified" for the job.

"I want to be extremely clear. Regardless of what you or I may think of the circumstances of this nomination, Barrett is highly qualified to serve on the Supreme Court," Harvard Law School's Noah Feldman wrote in an essay. "And when she is confirmed, I am going to accept it as the consequence of the constitutional rules we have and the choices we collectively and individually have made. And I'm going to be confident that Barrett is going to be a good justice, maybe even a great one — even if I disagree with her all the way."