Amy Coney Barrett supreme court hearing sets stage for partisan clash

Judge Amy Coney Barrett will appear on Capitol Hill for the opening of her supreme court confirmation hearings on Monday, setting the stage for an extraordinary partisan clash three weeks before election day.

Four days of hearings are scheduled before the Senate judiciary committee, beginning with opening statements on Monday, followed by two days of questioning. Thursday, the Senate panel will hear from outside experts.

Republicans are moving ahead with the nomination over the strident objections of Democrats, who have argued that the winner of the November election should nominate the next justice to the supreme court as was the case in 2016, after the death of Antonin Scalia.

Donald Trump thrilled conservatives and anti-abortion activists when he nominated Barrett last month to fill the vacancy left by the death of justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a liberal icon whose legacy was championing women’s rights.

Upon Scalia’s death in February 2016, the majority leader, Mitch McConnell, took the unprecedented step of refusing to hold a hearing for President Barack Obama’s nominee, Judge Merrick Garland, explaining that it was too close to a presidential election.

McConnell has already lost the support of Senator Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine locked in a tight re-election battle, who said she would vote against Barrett on the floor if the vote was held before the election. Alaska senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican, also said she believed the Senate should wait until after the election to move forward with the nomination.

But Republicans are confident that they will have the votes to rush Barrett’s nomination through before the election.

Complicating this, however, is a coronavirus outbreak at the White House, which infected the president and has spread to senior government officials and Republican lawmakers.

Two Republican senators on the committee – Mike Lee of Utah and Thom Tillis of North Carolina – tested positive for the coronavirus after attending a Rose Garden ceremony for Barrett on 26 September. Two other members – Ben Sasse of Nebraska and Ted Cruz of Texas – are self-quarantining after possible exposure to the virus but have tested negative. All plan to attend the hearing in person, though the committee chairman, Lindsey Graham, has said members would be allowed to participate remotely.

If any more members fall ill or are unable to participate in person, the math could be complicated for McConnell. But for now, Republicans are determined to press forward.