Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) took her call to fill the Supreme Court vacancy off of the Senate floor and onto the street, interviewing members of the public on-camera outside of the Supreme Court.
Stabenow gave each person the opportunity to deliver a message to the senators who have said they “don’t have to do their job for a year.”
At the start of the video, Stabenow asked each person if they thought the Republican-led Senate should fill the seat and hold a vote on President Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland. Everyone featured in the video said yes.
“I think they should get to work, do their job, that’s what we elected them to do. It’s a responsibility in the Constitution,” said a flight attendant who spoke with Stabenow.
“That’s what the American people pay them to do,” said another.
“I think they should because you have to have a full Supreme Court,” said one voter.
Stabenow followed up with each person and asked what would happen to them at their place of employment if they decided not to work.
“I would more than likely be fired,” a woman said.
“I would be terminated that same day,” a man said. “Same day with no recourse.”
When asked what they would say to the senators vowing to stall Garland’s nomination, most people said, “go to work, do your job.”
“I think we’ve heard the message loud and clear,” Stabenow said at the end of the video, which contained a #DoYourJob hashtag graphic at the bottom of the screen.
Last month, liberal protesters interrupted Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) during his speech to the Federalist Society about the vacancy created by the death of Antonin Scalia, yelling “do your job” until they were escorted out of the room.
President Obama has argued that the Senate Republicans’ actions would make it harder for judges to be confirmed if in the future the Senate is controlled by Democrats under a GOP president.
“The notion the Democrats would then say, ‘Oh, well, we’ll just go along with that’ — that is inconceivable, right?” Obama said. “So now the Democrats say, well, you know, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. We’ll wait four more years, to see the next president who comes in.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell fired back, saying, “I’m sure he’ll continue to demand that Washington spend its time fighting on one issue where we don’t agree rather than working together on issues where we do.”
While Senate Democrats continue their push for a vote on Garland before the presidential election, a group of Democratic lawmakers in Virginia are complaining about George Mason University’s decision to name its law school after Scalia.
The lawmakers sent a letter to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia requesting it reverse the Fairfax, Va., university’s plan for the “Antonin Scalia Law School,” calling the late Supreme Court justice “one of the most controversial justices in modern history.”
“Indeed, we have received pleas from alumni who are deeply concerned that this decision will undermine their ability to find future employment or undermine their professional reputation,” the Virginia Democrats wrote.
The university has said an anonymous donor had requested the name change after contributing $20 million to the school.
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