AS the Hill notes, every GOP senator was present for the vote, meeting the committee's rule that 12 members of the panel must be present to report a nomination to the full Senate.

On Wednesday, Democrats announced they would boycott the hearing, calling it a "sham" process.

"Fearing a loss at the ballot box, Republicans are showing that they do not care about the rules or what the American people want, but are concerned only with raw political power," Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Democratic members of the panel said in a joint statement.

"We will not grant this process any further legitimacy by participating in a committee markup of this nomination just twelve days before the culmination of an election that is already underway," they added.

While the committee requires two members of the minority party to be present in order to conduct business, Graham made it clear that he would move forward regardless of the committee's rules.

"As you know our Democratic colleagues informed the committee last night that they will not participate in the hearing, that was their choice. It will be my choice to vote the nominee out of committee. We're not going to allow them to take over the committee," Graham said on Thursday.

Instead of attending the hearing, Democrats put large posters around their seats of individuals they talked about during last week's hearing who would be negatively impacted if the Supreme Court, with Barrett confirmed to succeed late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, strikes down the Affordable Care Act.

The committee vote clears the way for a full Senate vote that is expected on Monday, Oct 26. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is expected to take the rare step of keeping the chamber in session over the weekend in order to limit the opportunities for Democrats to delay the vote.