Questioning will begin today, but Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett already has a great sense of what she’s up against as it relates to Senate Democrats. Republicans, too – as the welcome she received was in line with the political persuasions in the chamber. Republicans were fairly effusive about her credentials, the Dems? Not so much.
For her part, Judge Barrett said she “believes deeply in the rule of law” and “an independent Supreme Court.” In delivering her opening statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Barrett also said the high court “should interpret the Constitution and laws as they are written.”
Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham acknowledged that nobody's mind on the committee “is going to be changed by what transpires in the Senate hearing room.” Similarly, Democrats’ statements assailed what they perceive will be the result of Barrett’s expected confirmation: assaults on the Affordable Care Act and Roe v Wade. Barrett's confirmation would create a 6-3 conservative majority on the high court.
Barrett is a self-described textualist and originalist; she interprets the US constitution based on its plain language and an attempted understanding of the intent and mindset of the original drafters. Yesterday, she remarked, “Courts are not designed to solve every problem or right every wrong in our public life.”
Source: C-SPAN