Amy Coney Barrett’s supreme court confirmation hearings bring few surprises – with occasional glimpses of truth
It was the five-hour mark when the tech gods finally pulled the plug.
As Senator Richard Blumenthal started questioning supreme court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, the Senate’s audio system crashed and her words floated away on the air.
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Harris took up questioning Barrett on climate change.
Harris: Do you think COVID-19 is infectious?
That’s it from me today. My west coast colleague, Maanvi Singh, will take over the blog for the next few hours.
Here’s where the day stands so far:
Continue reading...People of Praise head Craig Lent made comment in 2018 as Barrett says she would never discriminate over sexual orientation
The Christian community where Amy Coney Barrett has previously served as a female leader – or handmaid – expels members who engage in gay sex, according to a 2018 interview with Craig Lent, the group’s current head.
Related: Amy Coney Barrett hearing: top Republican praises judge for being 'unashamedly pro-life' – live
Continue reading...Supreme court nominee Amy Coney Barrett was questioned by Democratic vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris over the Affordable Care Act, known popularly as Obamacare, during day two of the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing. Barrett made the claim that she was not aware of Donald Trump’s campaign promise to appoint justices who would dismantle Obamacare. Harris also tackled Barrett’s views on abortion, making a carefully laid-out case that despite Barrett’s equivocation and insistence that she is unbiased on the issue of reproductive rights, she is far from it. Republicans want to have Barrett confirmed before election day
On the second day of hearings before the Senate judiciary committee, Democrats pressed supreme court nominee Amy Coney Barrett on healthcare, election law and abortion rights – and met with little success.
Related: 'Slayer Pete': Buttigieg emerges as Biden's unlikely Fox News fighter
Continue reading...Amid talk of originalism, harking to a time when only white men with property could vote, Republican ears pricked up
Depending on your point of view, the woman seated before the Senate judiciary committee for her first day of questioning was either the female Scalia or the anti-RBG. Or maybe, of course, both.
Related: Amy Coney Barrett dodges abortion, healthcare and election law questions
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Speaking of the coronavirus relief bill, it cropped up as a topic in the TV debate between Mitch McConnell and Amy McGrath who are contesting a Kentucky Senate seat in November, and the Republican senate majority leader attempted to laugh off the criticism. Martin Pengelly in New York writes:
“The House passed a bill in May and this Senate went on vacation,” McGrath said.
As McConnell chuckled, she continued: “I mean, you just don’t do that. You negotiate. Senator, it is a national crisis, you knew that the coronavirus wasn’t gonna end at the end of July. We knew that.”
Related: Mitch McConnell laughs at criticism over Congress Covid relief failure
Republicans should be strongly focused on completing a wonderful stimulus package for the American People!
...request, and looking to the future of our Country. I have instructed my representatives to stop negotiating until after the election when, immediately after I win, we will pass a major Stimulus Bill that focuses on hardworking Americans and Small Business. I have asked...
OUR GREAT USA WANTS & NEEDS STIMULUS. WORK TOGETHER AND GET IT DONE. Thank you!
It’s been a Republican campaign mantra to keep pushing for Joe Biden to answer the question of whether he would ‘pack the court’ if he were to be elected in November.
Biden has refused to rule it out, although last night in Cincinnati he said “I’m not a fan of court packing.”
Related: Biden campaigns in red state Ohio, hoping to expand battleground map
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One other extraordinary dodge today: Barrett said that while she has “read things about climate change”, she does not have “firm views on it”.
Amy Coney Barrett tells Sen. Kennedy: “I have read things about climate change. I would not say I have firm views on it.” pic.twitter.com/kG3cv8XN5Q
The day was characterized by Barrett dodging questions on abortion, voting rights, the Affordable Care Act, and the presidential transfer of power.
Continue reading...US supreme court nominee Amy Coney Barrett was sworn in during Monday's opening confirmation hearing before the Senate judiciary committee and told senators she was humbled to be considered to fill the seat left by Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
President Donald Trump formally nominated Barrett on 26 September.
Trump's nomination of Barrett to a vacancy created by the death last month of Ginsburg just weeks before the election enraged Democrats, still furious about Republicans' refusal to consider a nominee from Barack Obama some 10 months before the 2016 election.
Continue reading...Republicans sought to normalise her rushed nomination while Democrats maintained a laser-like focus on the future of Obamacare
That was rich. Senate Republicans, otherwise known as Donald Trump’s Praetorian Guard, lined up on Monday to pay pious homage to Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the separation of powers and the halcyon days of political bipartisanship.
Related: What Amy Coney Barrett's likely confirmation means for America
Continue reading...Barrett’s expected elevation will give conservatives a bulletproof court majority, and many progressive causes are under threat
Senate Republicans have begun hearings to confirm Amy Coney Barrett as a supreme court justice. If confirmed as expected, Barrett would become the third justice on the court to be appointed by Donald Trump.
Here’s what it means:
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Senator Gary Peters of Michigan shared his family’s personal abortion story, with Amy Coney Barrett hearings underway.
Peters, a moderate Democrat locked in a tight reelection race, shared with Elle Magazine that in the 1980s, his first wife Heidi, had her water break when she was only four months pregnant, leaving the fetus without amniotic fluid.
My story is one that’s tragically shared by so many Americans.
It’s a story of gut-wrenching and complicated decisions — but it’s important for folks to understand families face these situations every day.https://t.co/VA3VDbjWrO
The significance is hard to overstate. Barrett represents the culmination of a decades-long project by conservatives to control the high court. Her confirmation would extend the conservative reach into every corner of American life, well beyond the size of their shrinking electorate.
Related: What Amy Coney Barrett's likely confirmation means for America
Continue reading...Four days of hearings are scheduled before the Senate judiciary committee, beginning with opening statements on Monday
Judge Amy Coney Barrett will appear on Capitol Hill for the opening of her supreme court confirmation hearings on Monday, setting the stage for an extraordinary partisan clash three weeks before election day.
Four days of hearings are scheduled before the Senate judiciary committee, beginning with opening statements on Monday, followed by two days of questioning. Thursday, the Senate panel will hear from outside experts.
Continue reading...In opening remarks at confirmation hearing on Monday, supreme court nominee will say court ‘should not try’ to create policy
Amy Coney Barrett, Donald Trump’s latest controversial nominee for the US supreme court, will tell senators in her high-stakes confirmation hearing this week that she will approach cases based on the law, not her personal views, as Democrats urged her to step aside on upcoming contentious cases.
Barrett, a fervent Catholic with a record of opposing abortion rights, will say that courts “should not try” to create policy, during Monday’s opening remarks, which were obtained by multiple media outlets on Sunday.
Continue reading...Details of link to Kevin Ranaghan raise fresh questions about supreme court nominee’s involvement with People of Praise
Amy Coney Barrett lived in the home of one of the founders of the People of Praise while she was a law student, raising new questions about the supreme court nominee’s involvement with the secretive Christian faith group that has been criticized for dominating the lives of its members and subjugating women.
Related: Amy Coney Barrett: quick confirmation under threat as three senators infected
Continue reading...Senate Republicans are facing a shrinking window of time before the November 3 election to confirm Donald Trump’s supreme court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, following the news that at least three Republican senators have tested positive for the coronavirus and more are quarantining after likely exposure.
Related: Confusion mounts over Trump's true condition after doctor's Covid briefing – live
Continue reading...At least seven people who attended event for Trump’s supreme court nominee have confirmed they have coronavirus
A crowded Rose Garden ceremony last Saturday at which Donald Trump announced Amy Coney Barrett as his supreme court nominee has come under scrutiny after at least seven figures in attendance tested positive for coronavirus, including the president himself.
On Friday, the president’s former counsellor, Kellyanne Conway, announced she had tested positive and had “mild” symptoms.
Continue reading...Barrett signed newspaper ad in 2006 sponsored by St Joseph County Right to Life, an extreme anti-choice group
Amy Coney Barrett, the Trump administration’s supreme court nominee, publicly supported an organization in 2006 that has said life begins at fertilization. It has also said that the discarding of unused or frozen embryos created in the in vitro fertilization (IVF) process ought to be criminalized, a view that is considered to be extreme even within the anti-abortion movement.
The revelation is likely to lead to new questions about how Barrett’s personal views on abortion may not only shape reproductive rights in the US for decades to come if she is confirmed by the Senate, but how her appointment could affect legal rights for women undergoing fertility treatment, as well as their doctors.
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