The hardest stage in the confirmation process of Judge Amy Coney Barrett in the Supreme Court begins this Tuesday: the interrogation.
As Democratic senators have already anticipated on the first day of the hearings,
health care
is one of the main issues on which Judge Barret will be questioned.
Specifically, its position on the Affordable Care Act (popularly known as Obamacare).
The right to abortion is another topic on which she is expected to be questioned.
Barrett, whose appointment was proposed by President Donald Trump just weeks before the election, will be questioned in 30-minute segments by the 22 members of the Senate judicial committee, including Democrats who oppose her candidacy.
They have been pointing out for weeks that the winner of the presidential election is the one who should choose the replacement for the late Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Even two Republican senators agreed with it.
[This is Amy Coney Barrett, nominated by Trump for the Supreme Court: she is in favor of the public charge rule and against abortion]
This Monday, at the beginning of the confirmation hearings to occupy the position in the highest court in the country, Barrett promised to be
independent and interpret the constitution and laws to the letter,
regardless of his "own preferences."
"In all cases, I have carefully considered the arguments presented by the parties ... and did everything possible to achieve the result required by law, regardless of my own preferences," Barrett told the Senate judicial committee.
"I was nominated to fill the position of Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg, but no one will ever be able to take her place," added Barrett.
"I will always be grateful for the path he marked and the life he led," she added.
With her husband and six of their seven children behind her in the courtroom, the 48-year-old federal appeals court judge laid out a judicial philosophy that she has compared to that of her conservative mentor, the late Justice Antonin Scalia. .
It is precisely the
difference in views that Barrett has compared to that of Ginsburg
that most worries the Democratic senators who oppose the nomination made by Trump.
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Their conservative stance, they argued Monday, jeopardizes Judge Ginsburg's legacy, in addition to threatening the existence of ObamaCare.
[Democrats will focus on Obamacare the battle against Amy Coney Barrett, Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court]
Kamala Harris, a California senator and vice presidential candidate, said by videoconference that "by replacing Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg with someone who will disarm her legacy, President Trump is seeking to roll back the rights of Americans for decades to come." .
He decided to do so due to the COVID-19 pandemic, after two Republican senators from the judicial committee tested positive.
One of them, Utah Sen. Mike Lee, was present Monday, without a mask.
Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who had also tested positive for the virus, is expected to attend Tuesday, according to his office.
Cruz told our sister network NBC News that he was retested and came back negative.
It is the
first time
that these hearings have been held
so close to election day on November 3.
That is another of the arguments used by Democratic senators to question the timing of these sessions.
The Republicans' response was to defend Barrett's credentials and accuse the Democrats of carrying out attacks in an "outrageous" manner.
[Why the death of Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg has created so much tension. We answer your questions]
On the outskirts of the Dirksen Senate Building in Washington DC, protesters for and against Barrett's nomination gathered to express their opinion, including several Latinos.
At least five of them were arrested for riot.
Those who are against the judge's nomination say that reproductive rights, Obamacare and the rights of minorities are at stake.
Barrett's appointment is considered a momentous issue because the Supreme Court makes decisions on issues of great importance to American society and, being a life term, a new conservative judge could tip the balance of the court on that ideological side for at least less two decades, maybe more.
Currently, the court has five conservative and three progressive judges.
Amy Coney Barrett, accompanied by her children, during the hearing to review her nomination in the Senate.
While the Democratic candidate Joe Biden affirmed that the central topic of the discussion in the Senate should be Obamacare, Trump criticized through Twitter the Democratic arguments to those who he called to approve Barrett's nomination and to concentrate on getting a stimulus plan economic due to the pandemic.
The date for the final vote on Judge Barret's confirmation has not yet been set.
Senate Majority Leader Kentucky Republican Mitch McConnell has said he will schedule a floor vote as soon as the Judiciary Committee's work is done.
Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, expects to wrap up the panel vote by Oct. 22.
That would leave 11 days of margin, including four on weekends, before the elections.
With information from AP, NBC News, The Washington Post, The New York Times.
