Democrats claim Trump’s nominee is a ‘torpedo’ aimed at Obamacare
DEMOCRATIC senators dubbed Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee a “judicial torpedo” aimed at destroying a law enshrining healthcare protections yesterday as they sought an electoral advantage from the first day of confirmation hearings.
As Amy Coney Barrett, the judge proposed for the open seat on America’s top court, sat watching in a black face mask in the Senate Judiciary Committee, her stance on healthcare was brought up time and time again by Democrats.
Specifically, Democrats went after her past criticism of a ruling upholding Obamacare, the flagship healthcare law under Barack Obama, the former president, which has helped millions of Americans obtain health insurance but that Mr Trump is still fighting to repeal.
Ms Barrett, a lawyer and legal scholar turned judge, once voiced her opposition to John Roberts, the Supreme Court chief justice, siding with liberals on the court to uphold the law in 2012, saying he “pushed” the law “beyond its plausible meaning to save the statute”.
Appearing virtually at the hearing, Kamala Harris, the California senator and Democratic vice- presidential nominee, said the “reckless” hearing “should have been postponed”. She said: “Senate Republicans have made it crystal clear that rushing a Supreme Court nomination is more important than helping and supporting the American people who are suffering from a deadly pandemic and economic crisis.”
Ms Harris accused Republicans of using the Supreme Court to “do their dirty work” by repealing Obamacare, or the Affordable Care Act.
Obamacare and its legality is due to come up before the Supreme Court again the week after the election, a fact which Democratic senators seized on.
“Healthcare coverage for millions of Americans is at stake during this nomination,” said Dianne Feinstein, the top Democratic senator on the committee. She claimed 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions could see coverage denied or increase in cost if Obamacare was struck down by the courts. Sheldon Whitehouse, Democratic senator for Rhode Island, said “big secretive influences behind this unseemly rush see this nominee as a judicial torpedo they are firing at the ACA”.
The strategy appeared to have more to do with the election, less than four weeks away, than any hope they can block Ms Barrett’s appointment.
The Republicans are determined to secure Ms Barrett’s confirmation before the Nov 3 election, given her lifetime appointment would boost the conservative majority on the court.
Hearings this week will be followed by a vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee and then a vote from the full Senate. Ms Barrett, 48, said her personal “preferences” did not influence her rulings as a judge.
♦ President Trump has tested negative for coronavirus “on consecutive days,” White House physician Dr Sean Conley confirmed last night.