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Of: TT
Published:
February 1 | Photo: Caroline Brehman / AP / TT
Judge candidate Amy Coney Barrett is being questioned in the Senate.
For Amy Coney Barrett a job for life is at stake. And an important step on the conservative candidate’s path to being approved as a new justice on the United States Supreme Court are the four days of hearings that now begin in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“I was nominated to replace Judge Ginsburg, but no one can take her place.”
That’s what Amy Coney Barrett will say in her keynote address when the Senate Justice Committee hearing begins later Monday, according to the script that has already been released. But nowhere on the four pages does he mention his religion, his conservative stance, or what his nomination for the balance in the United States Supreme Court means.
President Donald Trump nominated Coney Barrett to succeed Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court. The liberal judge died in September, and within minutes after the death sentence, the political battle began in Washington DC.
Fast process
Republicans want to fill the Ginsburg seat before the Nov. 3 election, while Democrats believe it is reasonable to let the American people have their say before a new judge, who is serving a life sentence, is approved. That same argument was made by Republican Mitch McConnell when in 2016 he refused to allow the Senate to vote for Barack Obama’s candidate as a replacement for Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in February of that year. As a result, since taking office, Trump has already appointed two justices to the court, thus gaining a conservative majority.
Currently, five of the nine judges are conservative, and with Coney Barrett, the balance would tip 6-3 against liberal judges. She is a deeply conservative Catholic, mother of seven, and first-rate student who is seen as the complete opposite of feminist icon Ginsburg. In this context, the 48-year-old should be considered young, but she has a solid background and the “correct” moral-conservative values.
Acclaimed attorney
Coney Barrett has been a federal judge for the United States Seventh District Court of Appeals since 2017. She has been described as a brilliant attorney and has also been a law professor at her former University of Notre Dame in Indiana.
Democratic senators and liberal representatives have opposed Coney Barrett for the same reasons that Trump wants to see her as a new judge. Critics in particular warned that abortion rights could be restricted and that the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, could be dismantled with another conservative judge in its place.
The Justice Committee hearing is expected to last four days. Democrats have called for a postponement after two Republicans on the committee, like Trump, tested positive for COVID-19 after the White House ceremony on Sept. 26, when the president officially introduced Coney Barrett as his running mate. However, they have not been heard.
Witnesses are called
Coney Barrett will hold his keynote speech to the committee on Monday. Senators will also speak and can decide for themselves whether they want to participate remotely or not. The royal hearing will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday and long hours with tough questions about his legal philosophy are expected. The hearing ends Thursday when outside witnesses will be questioned about Coney Barrett’s qualifications.
Republicans have a majority in the Senate, which means that Trump’s candidate for justice in all likelihood will be approved. The Justice Committee is expected to vote on the matter on October 22, after which a Senate-wide vote is expected at the end of the month.
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