Biden to focus on health care in Supreme Court debate

PHILADELPHIA — Joe Bide non Sunday used the sudden Supreme Court vacancy to reinforce his argument that the upcoming election should be a referendum on President Donald Trump' s handling of healthcare and the coronavirus.

The death of Justice Ruth Bad er Ginsburg jolted the presidential campaign just six weeks before the election and as several states are already voting. Trump has seized on the opportunity to nominate a new justice to motivate his most loyal voters. Bid en kept the focus on healthcare, which has proven to be a winning issue for Democrats during previous elections and could be even more resonant amid the pandemic.

The Supreme Court will hear a Republicanled case seeking to throw out the Affordable Care Act, which t he Trump administration supports, the week after the Nov. 3 election. Biden charged that Trump is seeking to undermine the protections for people with pre- existing conditions under the ACA, as well as its provisions covering preventative care for women.

“Millions of Americans are voting because they know t heir health care hang sin the balance ,” Biden said during remarks at Constitution Center in Philadelphia .“In the middle of the worst global health crisis in living memory, Donald Trump is before the Supreme Court, trying to strip health care coverage away from tens of millions of families.”

The Supreme Court could also hear cases on a few more particularly salient issues in the next few months: voting rights, and potentially who wins the November election.