Senate Republicans at the Monday Supreme Court confirmation hearings pushed harder against “religious tests” posed to Judge Amy Coney Barrett, even as Senate Democrats dropped the subject and pivoted toward criticisms of her alleged opposition to the Affordable Care Act.
The Republican strategy, prompted by criticisms of Barrett’s Catholicism in the weeks leading up to the hearings, featured prominently in the opening remarks of many members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, including those of Chuck Grassley, Ben Sasse, and Josh Hawley. All three claimed Democrats have been biased against Barrett, as well as other religious nominees, because they hold personal views out of step with the legal consensus on abortion, gay marriage, and religious liberty.
Both Sasse and Hawley delivered lengthy speeches on the subject, with Sasse decrying “religious tests” posed by Democrats and Hawley slamming the party as displaying unconstitutional, open hostility to faith.
“This bedrock principle of American liberty is now under attack,” Hawley said, referencing previous questions about faith posed by Democrats to Barrett and others.
Democrats, however, denied the bias and steered clear of religion. Instead, they focused on healthcare, arguing that Barrett is an opponent of former President Barack Obama’s signature achievement in office. Sen. Chris Coons said in his remarks that he and other Democrats will not consider Barrett’s faith, but rather her legal record. He said that a court with Barrett would do “irreparable harm” to civic order, pointing specifically to the Obamacare lawsuit.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who said in 2017 that the “dogma” of Catholicism “lives loudly” in Barrett, on Monday made no references to her faith, instead opting to criticize her as the manifestation of President Trump’s promise to “dismantle” Obamacare. Sens. Patrick Leahy and Sheldon Whitehouse helped lead her in this effort, with Whitehouse calling Barrett “a judicial torpedo” to the Affordable Care Act.
The divergent narratives also popped up on the campaign trail. Former Vice President Joe Biden and Vice President Mike Pence, both speaking in Ohio, commented on the hearings and voiced opinions similar to their party’s talking points. Biden said that Barrett’s faith “should not be considered” before erroneously claiming that Barrett said she “wants to get rid of the Affordable Care Act.”
Pence at a rally in Columbus, Ohio, cited past scrutiny applied to Barrett’s faith in the Senate before claiming that the hearings, then underway, represented a furthering of attacks on Barrett’s faith.
“Democrats and their Hollywood friends have already started to attack Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s Christian faith as well, this time around,” Pence said, before specifically attacking Sen. Kamala Harris for past questions she posed to members of the Knights of Columbus (a Catholic fraternal organization) for its opposition to abortion and gay marriage.
But at a press conference after the hearing, Republican supporters of Barrett acknowledged that Senate Democrats have shifted away from faith-baiting. Sen. Ted Cruz, a member of the Judiciary Committee, said that it should give Republicans “great comfort” that Democrats were generally silent on matters of faith, religious liberty, and abortion. Cruz speculated that party leaders moved the focus to healthcare after fearing that public opinion was more socially conservative than originally thought.
“It was striking today that virtually all of the Democrats’ extreme, left-wing Supreme Court agenda they ran away from and hid,” Cruz said.
Still, the focus on healthcare is of a piece with previous attacks on Barrett for her faith, whose doctrines oppose abortion, which in the past was a key component of grassroots opposition to the Affordable Care Act, said Sen. Marsha Blackburn, who also pushed back against “religious tests” in her opening remarks.
“They want to send a signal,” Blackburn said of Senate Democrats. “If you’re pro-life, pro-family, pro-religion, pro-business, pro-military, they do not think your voice counts — and if you’re not in agreement with what the Left says should be women’s issues.”
At the hearing’s outset, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham warned both parties not to allow the process become a repeat of the contentious confirmation hearings held in 2018 for Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Graham said that Barrett “doesn’t deserve” the treatment given to Kavanaugh, noting that the sexual assault accusation waged against the judge was not warranted.
“Let’s remember — the world is watching,” Graham said of the current confirmation hearings.
The day’s proceedings were widely expected to be a moment for Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris to show off the same ruthlessness that shot her into the national eye during the Kavanaugh hearings. Harris’s remote feed, however, hit technical difficulties as she began her opening statement. As she explained why she opposed holding the hearings in person and before the election, her computer’s video cut out, causing some confusion.
Harris said the nomination should be postponed and that Trump and Republicans are moving to jam Barrett’s confirmation though in time to swing a Supreme Court decision to overturn Obamacare. Harris said Barrett’s record suggests she’ll make other decisions that will take away rights.
“Every American must understand that, with this nomination, equal justice under law is at stake,” said Harris, who is a member of the Judiciary Committee. “Voting rights are at stake, workers’ rights are at stake, consumer rights are at stake, the right to a safe and legal abortion is at stake, and holding corporations accountable is at stake. And there’s so much more.”
Barrett delivered her opening statement in person, reflecting notably on her family. Barrett also praised the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
“When I was 21 years old and just beginning my career, Ruth Bader Ginsburg sat in this seat,” Barrett said. “She told the committee, ‘What has become of me could only happen in America.’ I have been nominated to fill Justice Ginsburg’s seat, but no one will ever take her place. I will be forever grateful for the path she marked and the life she led.”
The nominee also struck a defiant tone, telling senators her judicial philosophy was shaped heavily by the late Justice Antonin Scalia, and like her mentor, she would be “fearless of criticisms.”
Her opening statement was an indication that she won’t be cowed into backing down from her textualist interpretation of the Constitution.
Barrett said she learned from Scalia’s devotion to his family and resoluteness in his own beliefs. She said that as she embarked on her own legal career, she resolved to “maintain that same perspective.”
Barrett’s comments confirm the worst fears of Democrats: That the court will now include another conservative unlikely to serve as a swing vote in the same manner Chief Justice John Roberts has on critical cases such as Obamacare, which he voted mostly to uphold in a 2012 decision.
Republicans are hopeful that this week’s confirmation hearings will help them turn the page on Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis and other news that has left the party behind in the polls.
“She is a star, and we’re confident that will shine through,” said a Republican close to the hearings.
“The Supreme Court hearings and the fact that Trump is going on the campaign trail can help Republicans create renewed momentum in the final weeks before the election,” said GOP strategist Ron Bonjean.
Highlights from Day One of Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court confirmation hearing
Amy Coney Barrett strikes defiant tone, says like Scalia, she will be ‘fearless of criticisms’
GOP hopes Barrett hearings will switch election to Trump-friendly ground
‘Can you see me now?’: Harris gets past technical glitch to blast Barrett nomination on video
‘In a category of excellence’: Graham praises Barrett and warns Democrats against Kavanaugh repeat
Ben Sasse: Amy Coney Barrett hearings would confuse ‘eighth-grade civics’ students
‘Anything boys can do, girls can do better’: Amy Coney Barrett reflects on motto she lived by
