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Courts should not attempt to make political decisions, Supreme Court nominee Barrett said at her first hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. That is exactly what Democrats assume and fear for “Obamacare.”
Less than three weeks before the US presidential election, the Senate has begun hearings for Constitutional Justice Appointed Amy Coney Barrett.
Before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Barrett laid out his attitude toward work: Courts must interpret the constitution and laws “as written.” They have a “vital responsibility to enforce the rule of law, which is essential to a free society,” but they are not designed to “solve all problems or rectify all injustices in our public life.”
The public should not expect the courts to make political decisions and judge government decisions, Barrett said in his first statement. “And the courts shouldn’t try that. All people deserve an independent Supreme Court.” And I believe that I can serve my country by playing that role, “said the lawyer.
Conservative Catholic Barrett was nominated by the President of the United States, Donald Trump. According to his will, he should succeed the liberal judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died in mid-September.
Danger to “Obamacare”?
Opposition Democrats used Barrett’s appearance to portray them as a threat to former President Barack Obama’s “Obamacare” health care reform. “The health care of millions of Americans is at stake with this nomination,” said Senior Justice Committee Democrat Dianne Feinstein at the start of Barrett’s multi-day hearing.
With “Obamacare” it was enforced, among other things, that Americans should not be denied health insurance due to prior illnesses. Democrats now point out that with the reform’s abolished before the Supreme Court, the consequences of a corona infection could also be counted as a prior illness and then possibly hamper health insurance. They note that Barrett criticized the Supreme Court’s line of argument to uphold Obama’s health care reform as constitutional.
The Trump administration is making a new attempt to overturn Obamacare in the Supreme Court. Just a week after the presidential elections, on November 10, the court will deal with the reform of the health system.
Republicans want confirmation before presidential election
Democrats also reiterated their criticism that President Trump and his Republicans want to determine personnel before the election. Democratic Senator Chris Coons told Barrett’s speech that he did not believe they had made a secret deal with Trump. “But I think he was chosen because his legal philosophy will produce the results President Trump wants.” Republican committee chairman Lindsey Graham responded that the Senate was doing “its duty.”
Republicans, who have a majority of 53 of the 100 senators in the House of Congress, want Barrett to be confirmed for the US Supreme Court before the November 3 presidential election. If this happens as expected, the conservative majority on the Supreme Court would expand to six or three justices.
Until now, the distribution of votes has been five to four for decades, and the liberal side has repeatedly managed to turn the majority around by securing a vote from the other side. Because constitutional judges are appointed for life, the conservative dominance with Barrett’s election would be consolidated for years or even decades. The court often has the last word in legal disputes on politically controversial issues such as immigration, abortion rights or gun ownership.
