Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett listens during a confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Erin Schaff/The New York Times via AP, Pool)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett (all times local):
9:40 a.m.
Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett says she will be able to put aside her Catholic beliefs when ruling if she’s confirmed as a justice on the nation’s highest court.
Barrett told Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina on Tuesday she “can” set aside her Catholic beliefs and has “done that” since her confirmation as an appeals court judge in 2017. Graham chairs the Judiciary Committee overseeing Barrett’s Supreme Court confirmation hearing.
Barrett was nominated by President Donald Trump to fill the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat on the court. She’s fielding questions from senators on the judiciary panel this week.
Republicans have warned Democrats against criticizing Barrett’s religion or making it an issue in the hearings, although Democrats have made clear they have no plans to do so this week.
HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE SUPREME COURT CONFIRMATION HEARINGS:
Barrett is facing senators’ questions during a second day of confirmation hearings. Republicans control the Senate and want to confirm President Donald Trump’s pick to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg before Election Day to cement a conservative court majority.
Read more:
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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
9:30 a.m.
Judge Amy Coney Barrett says if she’s confirmed to the Supreme Court she’ll be her own justice.
Barrett has said the late Justice Antonin Scalia was a mentor to her and she was a former clerk for him. But when she was asked about her views on how she interpreted the Constitution and law at her confirmation hearing on Tuesday, she said that if confirmed the country would not be “getting Justice Scalia, you would be getting Justice Barrett.”
Barrett is facing the first day of questioning from senators in her confirmation hearings. Republicans are moving at a break-neck pace because they want to get Barrett on the court before the Nov. 3 election.
Democrats are worried about whether Barrett would strike down the Affordable Care Act. They say Republicans are rushing the confirmation process.
9 a.m.
The second day of confirmation hearings for Judge Amy Coney Barrett has begun.
On Tuesday, Barrett will answer questions from senators on the Judiciary Committee. A day earlier, she told the panel she believes the court should interpret the U.S. Constitution and laws “as they are written.”
Barrett said in her opening statement that people of all backgrounds deserve “an independent Supreme Court.”
Even before her confirmation hearings end, the Senate Judiciary Committee has already scheduled a Thursday vote to approve her nomination. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham scheduled a committee vote for 9 a.m. Thursday, the last day of hearings. Barrett’s nomination is expected to be brought up for a vote at that meeting and then delayed for a week, per committee rules.
Republicans are moving quickly to confirm Barrett before the presidential election Nov. 3.
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