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- Joe Biden has criticized the choice of Amy Coney Barrett as Supreme Court Justice.
- The president of the United States, Donald Trump, announced it as his choice on Saturday.
- Conservative groups welcome the election.
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and other members of his party on Saturday criticized the election of Conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett by U.S. President Donald Trump to the Supreme Court, focusing in particular on the threat they said it would pose to the health care of millions of Americans.
Biden pointed out that even as the Trump administration is trying to bring down Obamacare in a case the Supreme Court is due to hear on Nov. 10, Barrett has a “written record” criticizing a landmark 2012 ruling written by Chief Justice John Roberts. that preserves the law formally. known as the Affordable Care Act.
PHOTOS | Mourners pay tribute to Ginsburg in the US Supreme Court.
Biden, who was seeking to defeat the Republican president on November 3, asked the Senate not to act on the court vacancy caused by the death of liberal Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg until after the election, allowing the winner to do the trick. appointment.
“The Constitution of the United States was designed to give voters an opportunity to have their voice heard about who serves in court. That time is now and your voice must be heard,” Biden said.
Senate Republicans refused to consider US President Barack Obama’s 2016 Supreme Court nominee, saying the winner of that year’s election should choose.
Passionate reaction
Trump’s election means he would replace Ginsburg, an advocate for gender equality and other liberal causes who died Sept. 18 at age 87, with a jurist who in many ways is his judicial opposite.
If confirmed, Barrett would give the court a conservative 6-3 majority. The implications for contentious issues such as abortion, LGBT rights, gun control measures, and healthcare have sparked a passionate reaction from both sides.
Democrats said Barrett would vote to dismantle healthcare during a coronavirus pandemic that has already killed more than 200,000 Americans.
“This nomination threatens to destroy the life-saving protections for 135 million Americans with pre-existing conditions along with all the other benefits and protections of the Affordable Care Act,” said the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi.
Obamacare has helped millions of Americans get health insurance.
Trump wants Barrett to be confirmed before the election.
If so, he would be on the dock of Obamacare oral arguments, with the Republican-led states and the Trump administration trying to invalidate the law. A Democratic-led coalition of states seeks to preserve the law in litigation.
Republicans have a 53-47 majority in the Senate and have vowed to move quickly on confirmation. They applauded Trump’s election.
“President Trump could not have made a better decision,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
‘Pro-life majority in the Senate’
Senator Lindsey Graham, chairman of the Judiciary Committee that will conduct the confirmation hearings, added: “We move forward on this nomination knowing that the President has chosen a highly qualified person who will serve our nation well on the highest court in the country.” .
Trump’s critics have also raised concerns that a rushed confirmation process so close to an election runs the risk of further eroding the court’s reputation as independent.
But conservative and anti-abortion Christian activists, who praised the election, urged senators to act quickly and warned Democrats not to attack Barrett’s religious faith.
“We are confident that the pro-life majority in the Senate will act quickly to confirm it before the election,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B Anthony List, an anti-abortion group that is launching a digital advertising campaign in support of Barrett.
Abortion rights groups said Barrett’s addition to the court could jeopardize the landmark 1973 ruling that legalized abortion across the country.
“The Supreme Court plays a vital role in protecting and defending civil rights and liberties – including reproductive rights – for everyone in the United States. We cannot go forward with a nomination that will impact people’s lives for generations.” said Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights.
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