Abortion opponent emerges as Trump favourite

US President Donald Trump met yesterday with Judge Amy Coney Barrett at the White House as the conservative jurist emerged as a favourite to replace the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court.

A devout Catholic mother of seven, Barrett is a favourite of religious conservatives and considered a strong opponent of abortion.

Trump said he expects to announce his pick by week’s end, before the burial of Ginsburg at

Arlington National Cemetery.

The president told reporters he would interview other candidates and might meet with Judge Barbara Lagoa when he travels to Florida later this week. But Barrett has long been favoured by conservatives, and those familiar with the process said interest inside the White House seemed to be waning for Lagoa amid concerns she was not conservative enough.

A judge on the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, Barrett, 48, was a strong contender for the seat truthful in what he has said about that. He is in court to crush the preexisting condition as he crushes the Affordable Care Act, instead of crushing the virus.”

Preserving safeguards for people with pre-existing conditions is a top argument for Democrats trying to mobilise public opinion in states where incumbent Republican senators face tight re-election challenges. It’s one the few avenues Democrats have to try to block a Supreme Court nominee in the Gopcontrolled chamber. that eventually went to Brett Kavanaugh in 2018.

At the time, Trump told confidants he was “saving” Barrett for Ginsburg’s seat.

Lagoa has been pushed by some aides who tout her political advantages of being Hispanic and hailing from the key political battleground state of Florida.

Trump said he is planning to name his pick by this weekend, ahead of the first presidential election debate.

—AP

Back in 2017, failed Republican bills that sought to replace the Obama law would have weakened the health law’s protections for people with medical problems, said analyst Larry Levitt of the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation. “It’s become like motherhood and apple pie to protect people with pre-existing conditions, but there is a big gap in the campaign slogans and what [Republicans] are willing to support,” said Levitt. “President Trump has promised to protect people with pre-existing conditions, but has yet to put out a plan.”