Barrett Testimony Resumes Tuesday With Questions: Hearing Update

Graham Says Senate Duty to Confirm Barrett Now: Court Update

13 Oct 2020, 11:03 AM IST

(Bloomberg) -- The hearings for the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett began Monday in the Senate Judiciary Committee as Republicans try to cement a conservative majority on the court before the Nov. 3 election.

Monday’s session is primarily opening statements, with some lawmakers participating remotely because of the coronavirus, which has directly affected the committee. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham said it’s the Senate’s constitutional duty to confirm Barrett as soon as possible.

Barrett Testimony to Resume Tuesday With Questions (2:41 p.m.)

The first day of Barrett’s confirmation hearing wrapped up Monday following her opening statement. The Judiciary Committee will reconvene Tuesday at 9 a.m. with lawmaker questions for the nominee.

There will be two days of questioning, giving each committee member one 30-minute round of questions and another 20-minute round. Graham said there will be long days ahead and told Barrett to get some rest.

Barrett Outlines Experience in Opening Statement (2:10 p.m.)

Barrett used her opening remarks to recognize her family and the influence of education and the law on her professional and personal life, both in academia and public service. She also outlined her judicial philosophy, which she said was formed in part by her experience working as a clerk to the late Justice Antonin Scalia.

She praised the sitting justices and commented on the role of the judiciary in the American system of governance.

“Courts are not designed to solve every problem or right every wrong in our public life,” she said. “The policy decisions and value judgments of government must be made by the political branches elected by and accountable to the people.”

“Cases are named for the parties who stand to gain or lose in the real world, often through their liberty or livelihood,” she continued. “I ask myself how would I view the decision if one of my children was the party I was ruling against.”

Barrett spoke highly of Ginsburg and said she would be “forever grateful” for the path the late justice paved.

“I have been nominated to fill Justice Ginsburg’s seat, but no one will ever take her place,” she said.

The committee hearing concluded for the day, to resume Tuesday with questions from senators.

Harris Says Covid Aid Should Be Senate Priority (1:31 p.m.)

Senator Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for vice president, said Barrett’s confirmation hearing should have been postponed due to safety concerns during a global pandemic and the urgent need to approve more virus-related stimulus.

“Senate Republicans have made it crystal clear that rushing a Supreme Court nomination is more important than helping and supporting the American people who are suffering from a deadly pandemic and economic crisis,” Harris said. “Their priorities are not the American people’s priorities.”

Harris said that Barrett’s nomination threatened the Supreme Court’s reputation as the “last refuge for equal justice.”

“By replacing Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg with someone who will undo her legacy, President Trump is attempting to roll back Americans’ rights for decades to come,” Harris said.

Democrats Rip ‘Super-spreader’ White House Event (1:20 p.m.)

Democratic Senators Cory Booker and Mazie Hirono said President Trump’s announcement of Barrett’s nomination last month was a “super-spreader event” because several attendees later tested positive for Covid-19.

Their statements are part of the criticism of the way Trump and the Republican Party have handled the coronavirus pandemic and what Democrats portray as a callousness toward the health needs of ordinary Americans.

Booker said the attendees of the Rose Garden announcement had access to the best health care in the world, while many Americans do not.

Republicans Praise Ginsburg as Model for Women (12:50 p.m.)

As the Judiciary Committee returned from a midday recess, Senator Joni Ernst, a Republican from Iowa, praised the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, adding that Democrats opposed to Barrett’s nomination were “demeaning” women.

“As a fellow woman, a fellow mom, a fellow Midwesterner, I see you for who you are,” she told Barrett. “They are attacking you as a mom and a woman of faith because they cannot attack your qualifications.”

Ernst, who is in a tight race for re-election, is one of only two Republican women on the Judiciary Committee. The other is Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee.

Panel Members Recess, With Few Visitors Allowed (11:54 a.m.)

Graham adjourned the hearing for lunch, planning to continue at 12:20 p.m. Only some members of the Judiciary Committee, Barrett and a few other observers have actually been in the hearing room.

Unlike during the confirmation hearings for Justice Brett Kavanaugh, which featured dramatic confrontations between protesters and senators, the Capitol has been closed to the public since the early months of the coronavirus pandemic.

Even so, the Capitol Police said in a statement that they’ve arrested at least 21 people in connection with an “unlawful demonstration” on Capitol Hill.

More than a dozen protesters were removed from the front of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, according to the Washington Post. Protesters held signs and wore face masks with the likeness of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, whose death opened the Supreme Court seat in question. They exchanged chants with pro-Barrett demonstrators.

Hawley Decries Focus on Barrett’s Catholic Faith (11:38 a.m.)

Senator Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, accused Democrats of attacking Barrett for her Catholic faith, saying they have tried to institute a “religious test” for the Supreme Court, in violation of the Constitution.

“This pattern and practice of bigotry from members of this committee must stop,” Hawley said. “And I would expect that it be renounced.”

Hawley was not the first Republican on the committee to bring up religion, although he addressed it more directly than some of his colleagues. Democrats, for their part, have focused their comments on health care and election issues before the court.

Senator Chuck Schumer, the Senate’s Democratic leader, said last month that Barrett’s religion “should play no role, no role” in the confirmation hearings.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, who is a practicing Catholic like Barrett, told reporters in Delaware Monday that “nobody’s faith should be questioned.”

Senators Revisit Open Seat Controversy From 2016 (11:15 a.m.)

Both Democrats and Republicans on the Judiciary Committee used their opening statements to revisit last presidential election and the decision by Senate Republicans to not allow President Barack Obama to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by the 2016 death of Justice Antonin Scalia.

At the time, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused hold a vote on Obama’s nominee for that seat, arguing that the Senate should not fill the vacancy during an election year. Democrats on Monday said that decision set a precedent that a Supreme Court seat should not be filled until after the election in November.

“Proceeding with this confirmation is wrong,” Democratic Senator Chris Coons said, adding that it would do harm to the “remaining trust we have in each other” and that Americans have in the Supreme Court.

Senator Ted Cruz, speaking remotely, defended the move, saying that the precedent McConnell was following applied only when the White House and the Senate were held by opposing political parties.

No president, however, has ever tried to fill a Supreme Court seat so close to an election, no matter which party controlled the Senate. The previous record was President Millard Fillmore’s failed 1852 nomination of Edward Bradford, which occurred 78 days before the election.

Democrats Defend Obamacare With Health Stories (10:55 a.m.)

Democrats on the Judiciary Committee have maintained a focus on health care during their opening statements, highlighting the personal stories of their constituents and the importance of the Affordable Care Act during the coronavirus pandemic.

Many of their statements include references to large posters of people, often young people, that they have on their side of the dais. Some of those people died after testing positive for Covid-19. Democrats also sharply criticized President Donald Trump and his handling of the pandemic.

“We have a president who divides our country each and every day,” said Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. “The president could have saved so many lives.”

Lee Speaks Without Mask, Was Covid-Positive (10:29 a.m.)

Despite Covid-19 concerns, most members took off masks when speaking, including Utah Republican Mike Lee, who tested positive 10 days ago. Democrats who have demanded stricter precautions also removed their masks for their opening statements.

North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis, the other committee member who recently tested positive for Covid-19, participated in the hearing remotely.

Lee released a letter from Congress’s physician saying that he has “met criteria to end COVID-19 isolation for those with mild to moderate disease.”

Committee Chairman Graham said Lee’s enthusiasm in his opening statement “convinces me you’ve made a full recovery.”

Democrats criticized the lack of coronavirus precautions in the Judiciary Committee.

“This hearing itself is a microcosm of Trump’s dangerous ineptitude in dealing with the Covid pandemic,” said Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse. “Trump can’t even keep the White House safe.”

“I don’t know who has been tested, who should be tested, who is a danger, what contact tracing has been done on infected senators and staff,” Whitehouse said, calling the hearing an “irresponsible botch.”

Durbin Says Trump Wants Barrett to Rule on Vote (10:16 a.m.)

Senator Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, said that Donald Trump wants Barrett in place before the Nov. 3 presidential election because “he anticipates court challenges” over the vote, “especially over mail-in balloting, which he has repeatedly attacked without any substance.”

Durbin said Republicans “must doubt that President Trump will be re-elected,” and that’s why they are rushing. Trump, he said, wants Barrett to “rule in his favor in any election contest.”

Tillis to Appear Remotely Due to Covid Diagnosis (9:52 a.m.)

Senator Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican in a close re-election contest, will attend today’s hearing remotely, according to his office. He announced his first positive Covid test on Oct. 2, the same day as Utah Senator Mike Lee.

Senator Patrick Leahy, a Democrat from Vermont, was the first person to appear remotely. Leahy and some of his Democratic colleagues asked last week for a “clear testing regime” to be put in place before hearings proceeded.

Feinstein Says Future of Health Care Law at Stake (9:35 a.m.)

Graham and Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the committee, traded sharp rhetoric at the opening of the hearing, as Democrats previewed their strategy for countering Barrett’s nomination: a focus on what it would mean for a pending Obamacare case.

“This well could mean that if Judge Barrett is confirmed, Americans stand to lose the benefits that the ACA provides,” Feinstein said, pointing to a law review article in which Barrett criticized Chief Justice John Roberts’s reasoning when he cast the key vote to uphold the Affordable Care Act in 2012.

“Simply put, I think we should not be moving forward with this confirmation,” until the next president has been sworn in, Feinstein said.

“There’s nothing unconstitutional about this process,” Graham said. “I feel that we’re doing this constitutionally. Our Democratic friends object to this process.”

Graham Says Senate Duty to Confirm Barrett Now (9:15 a.m.)

Graham says Barrett is qualified to be a Supreme Court Justice, and he reminds the committee that the late Ruth Bader Ginsberg was confirmed with 96 Senate votes, even from senators who had a different ideological view.

The Judiciary Committee chairman, who is facing his own tough re-election race, said he expects a panel vote on party lines, but it’s important to present Barrett’s qualifications to the American people.

Lee Attends Hearing After Covid Diagnosis (9:05 a.m.)

Republican Senator Mike Lee from Utah is attending the hearing in person, after testing positive for the coronavirus two weeks ago. Graham said Lee is doing his job as a senator, just like other Americans are doing their jobs amid the coronavirus pandemic.

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