‘Star Wars’ Somehow Came Up During The Amy Coney Barrett Confirmation Hearing

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.

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.

Apparently this isn’t the first time Star Wars has been mentioned during the hearings, either.

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.