The Senate confirmation hearing on President Trump’s Supreme Court nomination of conservative judge Amy Coney Barrett started in Washington on Monday, but on Tuesday, things took a turn to a galaxy far, far away. On a day full of talk about the original intent of the U.S. Constitution and the concept of court-packing, it was a reference to Star Wars that got many people talking.
Tuesday’s session discussed the conservative bent to Coney Barrett’s beliefs and judgments, including her belief that the constitution cannot be interpreted outside of its writers’ original intent. Many on the left have criticized that belief, and the issue of court-packing raised eyebrows. Pitched by some Democrats as a way to balance what would be an extremely conservative court by increasing the number of seats on it, the move is one that presidential candidate Joe Biden has refused to comment on ahead of the election but what some liberals hope Democrats would embrace after the election.
Mike Lee, a senator from Utah who is attending the hearings less than a fortnight after contracting COVID-19 as part of the White House superspreader event, was highly critical of the idea and said the Supreme Court could soon look like the Galactic Senate from Star Wars.
Lee, on court-packing, says GOP would retaliate by adding more seats if they got the chance, and that SCOTUS would soon look like “the Senate from Star Wars.”
— Matt Ford (@fordm) October 13, 2020
While those scenes from the Galactic Senate in the movies were not the most interesting while it was in session, you have to admit that it was a pretty cool visual. There was also a fun force lightning fight in there (thanks to Yoda) in the later prequels, so perhaps this outlandish concept isn’t nearly as dire as Lee hopes it would be.
Still, there were plenty of Star Wars parallels to be found and jokes to be made by people reacting to the quote.
— Peter Bingham-Pankratz (@PeterBP) October 13, 2020
America, it’s in your hands. Do you want to make Star Wars real or not? https://t.co/1ZBkugDJ96
— Charles Star, Hostile Witness (@Ugarles) October 13, 2020
If court packing would create the Galactic Senate does Mike Lee have any idea that that makes Trump…Palpatine? pic.twitter.com/haRt8yFCam
—
(@cthoren) October 13, 2020
Apparently this isn’t the first time Star Wars has been mentioned during the hearings, either.
Is anyone else keeping track of the number of Star Wars comparisons made during the ACB hearings? We’re up to two after an allusion to the Galactic Senate made by Sen. Mike Lee.
— Max Reyes (@MaxJReyes) October 13, 2020
It seems unlikely that court-packing would lead to hundreds of Supreme Court justices, of course, but it’s fun to think about for a bit.