Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., speaks during a confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Monday, Oct. 12, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, Pool)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett (all times local):
9:40 a.m.
California Sen. Dianne Feinstein says “healthcare coverage for millions of Americans is at state” in the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.
Feinstein was speaking Monday during the start of hearings for Barrett before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Feinstein, the top Democrat on the panel, says the president has promised to appoint justices who will vote to undo the Obama-era Affordable Care Act. The Trump administration is challenging the law in a case that will be heard by the Supreme Court on Nov. 10.
Feinstein and Democrats are expected to focus on healthcare during the hearings. Feinstein still faces criticism for her comments during Barrett’s 2017 confirmation hearing to be a federal judge. Feinstein had joined Republicans on the panel in asking Barrett about her Roman Catholic faith, but then went further by telling Barrett, then a Notre Dame law professor, that “when you read your speeches, the conclusion one draws is that the dogma lives loudly within you.″
Republicans are pushing to confirm Barrett before Election Day.
HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE SUPREME COURT CONFIRMATION HEARINGS:
The Republican-controlled Senate is charging ahead on President Donald Trump’s pick to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and cement a conservative court majority before Election Day.
Read more:
— Lindsey Graham’s last stand? Senator leads Barrett court hearings
— Graham, Harris, Feinstein among the senators to watch at Barrett’s hearings
— Barrett is Scalia’s ideological heir.
— Barrett’s notable opinions.
HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
9:30 a.m.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham says Judge Amy Coney Barrett is in a “category of excellence” as a law professor and legal scholar.
Graham, R-S.C., praised Barrett as he opened Supreme Court confirmation hearing before the Republican-led panel. Barring a dramatic development, Republicans appear to have the votes to confirm the 48-year-old conservative appellate judge to a lifetime seat on the Supreme Court.
Graham acknowledged “the COVID problem in America is real,″ but said, “We do have a country that needs to move forward safely.” Barrett was wearing a face mask, as were all the roughly 100 people in the cavernous hearing room.
Graham cited Barrett’s testimony that she follows the judicial philosophy of the late Justice Antonin Scalia, for whom she clerked two decades ago. He called that a good summary of “who Amy Barrett is in terms of the law.″
Graham acknowledged the hearings are likely to be contentious, but said he hopes they do replicate the divisive hearings for Justice Brett Kavanaugh. “She doesn’t deserve that,″ Graham said. ”The American people I don’t believe deserve a repeat of those episodes.”
9:20 a.m.
A Utah Republican senator who had tested positive for the coronavirus says “I feel great” and is attending hearings in person for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett.
Sen. Michael Lee was present for the start of Senate Judiciary Committee hearings Monday for Barrett. He was wearing a blue surgical mask.
Conn Carroll, a spokesman for Lee, had previously said the senator is symptom-free.
Lee and another member of the committee, Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, both announced Oct. 2 that they had tested positive for the virus. Both attended a Sept. 26 Rose Garden ceremony in Barrett’s honor that seems to have been a major spreader of the virus.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham opened the hearing by defending holding the hearing so close to the presidential election. And he noted the likely outcome of the confirmation process. “All Republicans will vote yes. All Democrats will vote no.”
9 a.m.
Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court confirmation hearing has begun.
The hearing room was largely empty Monday and some senators tuned in virtually, citing the coronavirus.
President Donald Trump nominated Barrett just two weeks ago to fill the seat of the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died Sept. 18. Trump and Republicans want Barrett on the bench in time for Election Day, Nov. 3.
The hearing comes as three GOP senators have tested positive for the coronavirus, including two on the Judiciary Committee who now say they are symptom-free. The positive tests came after Trump’s Sept. 26 Rose Garden event announcing Barrett’s nomination. Trump fell ill with COVID-19 about 10 days ago.
Barrett, a conservative, would shift the balance on the court significantly right, from 5-4 in favor of conservatives to 6-3. Democrats worry she would vote to rule the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional. They’re also concerned about her record on abortion.
She was confirmed to the federal appeals court in 2017. Before that, she was a law professor at Notre Dame and was once a clerk for Justice Antonin Scalia.
Copyright 2020 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/db36d00a151d6aea8514ecd311fe9dca
