[ad_1]
A week before the US presidential election, Amy Coney Barrett’s appeal cemented the conservative majority on the country’s Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court could have the last word in possible judgments on the counting of votes in the elections of November 3, 2020. At the same time, with its decisions on controversial issues such as the right to abortion or same-sex marriages, the court repeatedly sets the course of American society.
The judges are nominated by the president and confirmed by the United States Senate. You are designated for life. US President Donald Trump’s candidate went to the Senate with the votes of 52 Republican members, all 47 Democrats and one Republican voted against her on Monday night.
Under Amy Coney Barrett, the Conservatives on the Supreme Court win the dominant majority of six of the nine seats. The 48-year-old replaces iconic liberal justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died in September. It is the third Supreme Court seat Trump has filled.
I already swore
Democrats around presidential candidate Joe Biden, however, demanded that only the winner of the election should settle Ginsburg’s successor. In the end, only Senator Susan Collins supported this view on the Republican side.
Just an hour after the Senate vote, Amy Coney Barrett swore in the constitution in the South Meadow of the White House. Then a photo was taken with Donald Trump on the balcony of the presidential residence.
On Tuesday, he will become a full member of the Supreme Court when Chief Justice John Roberts is sworn in. Barrett emphasized in a short speech that his political and private convictions would play no role in the decisions of the Supreme Court.
It was Amy Coney Barrett’s second event at the White House. After the event for his nomination exactly a month ago, several participants tested positive for the corona virus. This also included the president and his wife Melania. This time the chairs were placed farther apart, but several participants again did not wear masks.
Trump wanted to fill the vacant Supreme Court seat before the November 3 presidential election. He also explicitly referred to possible legal proceedings related to the presidential election. In recent days, the court has made several decisions on disputes over the electoral process in various states. One of them arrived just as the senators were casting their votes. The Supreme Court refused to extend the deadline for mailing ballots in Wisconsin to six days after November 3.
Democrats Warning
More recently, Democrats warned that with Amy Coney Barrett on the Supreme Court, President Barack Obama’s health care reform could be cut and millions of Americans would lose their health insurance. The Trump administration is making another attempt to overturn the reform in the Supreme Court, with the first hearing due a week after the presidential election. Trump only said last week that he expected the court to abolish “Obamacare.” He himself has been advertising his own health plan for years, but has yet to present it.
Liberals also fear that with Barrett and Tory dominance on the Supreme Court, the right to abortion and same-sex marriages could be at risk. At her hearing, which lasted several days, Amy Coney Barrett consistently kept a low profile on controversial issues. Among other things, he did not want to say whether, in his opinion, the right to abortion or same-sex marriage is covered by the constitution. He also declined to answer the question of whether a US president is constitutionally obligated to transfer power peacefully after an election.
Democrats were also outraged that Republicans in the Senate even refused to give an audience to Obama’s candidates for the Supreme Court in early 2016. They pointed out that in an election year the will of the people must first be known. Now they are moving away from that position at Barrett, who had established a new rule four years ago.
Joe Biden would address judicial reform
Given the conservatives’ dominance on the Supreme Court, Democrats have recently called for widening the Senate court if Joe Biden wins and the party wins.
Joe Biden initially avoided answering the question of whether he would support such a step for long. Meanwhile, he positioned himself in an interview against an extension, at least as a single measure. “The last thing we need is to turn the Supreme Court into political football so whoever has the most votes gets what they want,” Biden said in a television interview. “Presidents come and go, Supreme Court justices stay for generations,” he said.
At the same time, Joe Biden wants to tackle comprehensive judicial reform if he wins. Then he would let a committee of Democrats, Republicans and constitutional law experts advise on recommendations for six months, he said.
