Judge Barrett faces divided Senate on 1st confirmation hearing

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• The Senate on Monday started the confirmation hearing of President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett.
• Democratic senators slammed the GOP for pushing with the confirmation ahead of Election Day, as Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) called the hearing “a sham.”
• Despite sharp criticisms from Democrats, Republican senators remained firm in proceeding with Barrett’s confirmation to gain a conservative ideological bent in the judiciary.

The US Senate began on Monday the confirmation hearings of Judge Amy Coney Barrett, President Donald Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court, who was picked to fill the vacancy left by the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham opened the floor with an introduction about the “better days” in the Senate. He noted that in 1993, Ginsburg was confirmed in a 96-to-3 vote. Graham acknowledged that it certainly won’t be the case of Barrett.

“I don’t know what happened between then and now,” the judiciary chair said. “I guess we can all take some blame.”

Democrats have criticized Trump and GOP legislators for nominating Barrett which goes against the dying wishes of Ginsburg, and expediting the process as they hope for a conservative ideological edge on the judiciary.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said that “this hearing is a sham.”

What made the Democrats more frustrated was the participation of two Republican members of the judiciary committee, Senators Thom Tillis (N.C.) and Mike Lee (UH), who both contracted the coronavirus following their attendance at Barrett’s nomination in the Rose Garden event at the White House.

Even though some committee members are already in their 80s, Graham was committed to proceed with the hearings since any delay would mean a retreat as Election Day comes.

Tillis joined the meeting virtually, while Lee was physically present in the session and even spoke without using a face mask.

“We should not be holding this hearing when it is plainly unsafe to do so,” said Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), who also virtually attended the hearing. “Every senator on this committee knows in her or his heart that this is wrong.”

Despite the strong objections from Democrats, GOPs kept their firm goal as Graham pledged to move Barrett’s nomination to the full Senate within a couple of days.

Barrett’s first hearing was less belligerent than what was expected. Democrats raised concerns over her actions that would nullify the Affordable Care Act and would take away health care coverage for millions of Americans. On the other hand, Republicans accused Democrats with “anti-Catholic bigotry,” as what Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said.

Democrats piercingly questioned Barrett regarding her Catholic beliefs as he was nominated by Trump to the appellate bench in 2017. The interrogation, though, went unsuccessfully. Afterward, they did not touch on Barrett’s personal beliefs which made the GOP’s defense redundant.

Source: AOL.com