West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin slammed religious criticisms of Judge Amy Coney Barrett, a front-runner for President Trump’s nomination to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court.
During an interview on Fox and Friends Wednesday, the centrist Democrat decried the attacks against Barrett’s Catholic beliefs, which some outlets have linked to the dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale that has been converted into a television series.
“I have heard your colleagues in the Senate query her about her religion, which makes you wonder should a person’s religion disqualify them from a job on the Supreme Court? Because it sounds like some people on your side think that it should,” host Steve Doocy asked.
“Well, I guess whatever side you’re on, they can pick whatever they want to pick. I’m Catholic, OK? And religion should not enter into it. It sure doesn’t with me,” Manchin said.
“Does anything about her Catholic background bother you?” Doocy pressed.
“Not at all. No. We are who we are, how we were raised, where we were raised, and who raised us,” Manchin said. “That being said, whether you’re Catholic, whether you’re Protestant, whether you’re Jewish, evangelical, whatever it may be, God bless you. You worship who you want. You worship how you want. You worship the same God, all of us do. So with that being said, it’s awful to bring in religion. It truly is.”
During Barrett’s 2017 confirmation hearing for the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, California Sen. Dianne Feinstein targeted her religious background.
“Why is it that so many of us on this side have this very uncomfortable feeling that, you know, dogma and law are two different things? And I think whatever a religion is, it has its own dogma,” the Democrat said in the hearing. “The law is totally different, and I think in your case, professor, when you read your speeches, the conclusion one draws is that the dogma lives loudly within you, and that’s of concern.”
Manchin, a Democrat who often advocates for bipartisanship, encouraged senators to return to a civil political climate.
“Let’s keep it bipartisan, please. Let’s try to bring this country back together. We’re too darn good for this,” he said.
