[ad_1]
WASHINGTON (REUTERS) – The White House planned a celebration Monday (October 26) to mark the long-awaited confirmation by the Republican Senate of President Donald Trump’s conservative candidate Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, a month after that a similar event was linked to a Covid-19 outbreak that infected the president, among others.
While Democrats have fiercely opposed Ms. Barrett’s nomination, Republicans have a 53-47 majority in the Senate and her confirmation for a life court seat appears assured. Trump lobbied the Senate to confirm Ms Barrett before the November 3 election, which would create a conservative 6-3 majority in America’s highest judicial body.
Ms. Barrett, a federal appeals court judge, is Trump’s third selection for the court, allowing him to dramatically remake it as part of his success in moving the broader federal judiciary to the right since taking office. the position in 2017.
The Rose Garden ceremony on September 26 in which Trump officially appointed Ms Barrett to replace the late Liberal Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg preceded a wave of Covid-19 cases among leading Republicans, including Trump and the former. lady Melania Trump. The president spent three days in hospital receiving treatment with Covid-19.
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told reporters that the event planned for Monday night would likely take place outdoors.
“Tonight, we will do our best to encourage as much social distancing as possible,” Meadows said.
No candidate for the Supreme Court has been confirmed by the Senate this close to a presidential election. Ms Barrett’s confirmation would give Trump, who has been promoting his appointment at campaign rallies to cheers from his supporters, a major political victory eight days before the election.
The rush to confirm Ms Barrett, 48, has bitterly divided Democrats and Republicans, who are expected to divide largely along partisan lines in the final vote. Trump has said he expects the court to decide the outcome of the election and wants Ms. Barrett on the stand to participate in any election-related case that comes before the judges.
Sen. Mitt Romney, a rare Republican critic of Trump, on Monday urged his colleagues to vote for Ms Barrett, saying she would strengthen the court.
“The third branch may be one of the few institutions in our democratic republic that is not experiencing a collapse in public trust,” Romney said, referring to the judicial system, including the Supreme Court.
But the Washington Post in an editorial argued the opposite point, saying that a court with Ms. Barrett in it could further undermine faith in America’s democratic system if it gives Trump victory in a contested election.
“The reputation of the court would be shattered, as would the public’s faith in democracy,” the newspaper wrote on Monday.
“Building a conservative majority on the court is not worth that price.”
Pence’s role
Senate Democrats and some Republicans expressed unease at the possibility that Vice President Mike Pence, several of whose close associates tested positive for the coronavirus, may attend Monday’s vote.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Pence “allegedly intends to come” to the Senate chamber to preside over the final vote and criticized the vice president for being willing to put “the health of everyone who works at this building”.
Meadows said he was unsure of Pence’s plans.
Trump’s son-in-law and senior White House adviser Jared Kushner told Fox News that Pence “knows the correct protocols to follow, and I have every confidence that he is following those protocols.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people self-quarantine for 14 days if they have been in close contact with someone who tests positive for Covid-19.
Ms Barrett, if confirmed, is expected to participate in the arguments Nov. 10 in a case in which Trump and the Republican-led states seek to invalidate the Affordable Care Act. The 2010 health care law, also known as Obamacare, has helped millions of Americans obtain health insurance and has prohibited private insurers from denying health coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.
Ms. Barrett has criticized previous rulings upholding Obamacare, but said during her confirmation hearing that she did not have an agenda to invalidate the measure.
During her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee two weeks ago, Ms. Barrett, a favorite of conservative Christians, sidestepped questions about abortion, presidential powers, climate change, voting rights, Obamacare, and Other themes.
“I believe that Judge Barrett poses a threat to the rights themselves, including reproductive rights, LGBT rights and voting rights, that Judge Ginsburg worked so hard to protect,” said the senior Democrat of the Committee. Senate Judge Dianne Feinstein in the Senate. Floor on Sunday.
“For those reasons, I am opposed to his nomination.”
Ms. Barrett has been a federal appeals court judge since 2017 and was previously a legal scholar at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.
[ad_2]
