Barrett declined to provide specifics about her views on Obamacare during two days of questioning before the committee last week, but reaffirmed her originalist method of interpretation and her affinity for the late Justice Antonin Scalia, the conservative hero for whom she clerked early in her career.
Despite her previous writings that were critical of Obamacare, the conservative said she would approach the Nov. 10 case with an open mind if confirmed. She noted that the upcoming case raises questions about a legal doctrine upon which she had not previously expressed an opinion.
Some progressives were outraged by Democrats’ handling of Barrett’s confirmation hearings, arguing they lent legitimacy to a process at odds with McConnell’s 2016 refusal to even hold hearings for President Barack Obama’s nominee Judge Merrick Garland.
Organizations with power on the left, including Justice Democrats and Demand Justice, have since called for Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the committee’s top Democrat, to step down.
Democrats on Wednesday announced that they would boycott Thursday’s hearing.
“We will not grant this process any further legitimacy by participating in a committee markup of this nomination just twelve days before the culmination of an election that is already underway,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement that was joined by the committee’s Democrats.
At the start of the hearing, Graham addressed Democrats’ boycott, saying “we are not going to allow them to take over the committee.”
“They made a choice not to participate,” he said.
Source Article from https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/22/gop-senators-vote-to-advance-amy-coney-barretts-supreme-court-nomination.html
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