Pelosi Makes Scathing Statement, Accuses Trump of “Supreme Court Manipulation”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also released a statement criticizing Trump and the GOP Senate for "committed an act of supreme desperation" so close to Election Day.

Pelosi argued the confirmation, which she called a manipulation, was made so Trump and Republicans could "achieve their years-long campaign to destroy Americans’ health care"

“The President’s Supreme Court manipulation threatens the very values and rights that define and distinguish our nation: a woman’s constitutional right to make her own medical decisions, the rights of LGBTQ Americans, the right of workers to organize and collectively bargain for fair wages, the future of our planet and environmental protections, voting rights and the right of every American to have a voice in our democracy," Pelosi wrote in a statement.

Democratic senators warned that Republicans have lost the right to complain if they win back the majority.

"Will Democrats go to new, extraordinary lengths to maximize their power given the extraordinary lengths Republicans have gone to maximize their power? This is not a conversation that is ripe enough yet, but what do Republicans expect?" said Sen. Chris Murphy D-Conn., as part of the chamber’s debate over Barrett.

"Do we just unilaterally stand down and not choose to use the same tools that Republicans did in the majority? ... I think there are now new rules in the Senate, and I think Republicans have set them," he continued, according to the paper.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday cited population growth while making a hypothetical case for adding justices to the Supreme Court, saying that perhaps the country needs more district courts as well to account for the larger population.

Asked on MSNBC whether she is “open to efforts” to add seats to the Supreme Court, known as packing the court, Pelosi left the question open.

“I think that Joe Biden has given us a good path. He’s going to have something that people can understand why this is important,” Pelosi said moments after the Senate voted to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court Monday evening.

“Not just the Supreme Court but the other courts,” Pelosi continued. “In 1876, there were nine justices on the Court. Our population has grown enormously since then. Should we expand the Court? Well, let’s take a look and see. And that relates to the nine district courts. Maybe we need more district courts as well.”

The Supreme Court was last expanded to nine justices in 1869.