WASHINGTON— In the second day of her Supreme Court confirmation hearing Tuesday, Judge Amy Coney Barrett told the Senate Judiciary Committee that she does not have a political agenda but instead an “agenda to stick the rule of law.”
Democrats repeatedly questioned her on whether Roe v. Wade is settled precedent and whether she would uphold the Affordable Care Law.
Amid claims from Republicans that Barrett would be targeted for her Catholic faith, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., mentioned that the late Justice Antonin Scalia, also a Catholic, indicated that Roe v. Wade should be overturned.
Sticking to her originalist foundation, Barrett remained tight-lipped on abortion. “I have no agenda to try and overrule Casey,” she said, referring to another abortion rights case. “I have an agenda to stick to the rule of law and decide cases as they come.”
Sen. Blumenthal, D-Conn., asked Barrett directly: “Are you willing to say that Roe was correctly decided?”
“It’s inconsistent with the duties of a sitting judge,” Barrett said, “to take positions on cases that the Court has decided in the past…As I’ve said to your colleagues, it’s not up to me to be in the business of expressing views.”
The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on Barrett’s nomination Oct. 22, under the GOP timeline.
Sen. Ted Cruz ,R-Texas, framed Democrats as “radical” and “making decisions to abandon democracy,” concentrating on abortion, religious freedom and the Second Amendment.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., expressed frustration at Barrett’s lack of willingness to comment on issues like abortion and the Affordable Care Act, saying, “What does that leave us with here to figure out what kind of judge you would be?”
“It takes me to this point where I believe,” Klobuchar said, “that you would be the polar opposite of Justice Ginsburg.”
Republicans claim that questions like Sen. Klobuchar’s of the legitimacy and timing of the nomination are “play[ing] politics.”
“Democrats are continuing to play politics with our nation’s highest court,” the Republican National Committee said in part in a statement. “Instead of reviewing Judge Barrett’s nomination based solely and correctly on her highly qualified record, Democrats are lying about the confirmation process, trying to cast doubt on a completely fair and appropriate process.”
Sen. Christopher Coons, D-Del., pressed Barrett on how her presence on the Supreme Court would affect the future of the Affordable Care Act, saying, “Help me explain to her how the Affordable Care Act settled eight years ago is back before the Supreme Court.”
Barrett refused to indicate how she would rule should questions that affect the Affordable Care Act come before the court. “I’m not on a mission to destroy the Affordable Care Act, she said.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., reinforced the idea that Barrett’s Catholic faith is protected by law, asking at one point whether her faith would affect her views on abortion.
“I do see as distinct my personal moral and religious views and my task as following my laws as a judge,” Barrett said.
Klobuchar called the hearing “a sham” and “a rush to put in a justice,” saying, “The last time that we had a vacancy so close to an election was when Abraham Lincoln was president.”