Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y, on Monday slammed federal judge Amy Coney Barrett, one of the front-runners to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court, by calling her an “activist judge” who could put abortion rights and the Affordable Care Act at risk.
“Amy Coney Barrett is a judge on the Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit & on @realDonaldTrump’s pre-approved list for SCOTUS. She passed his ‘litmus test’ on overturning Roe v. Wade & striking down the ACA. Here’s where she stands on Americans’ big issues,” Schumer said in a series of tweets Monday.
“Barrett attacked the Supreme Court’s decision upholding the Affordable Care Act, which has helped millions of people secure health insurance coverage. Barrett also fought efforts to ensure that all women have access to contraceptives,” he said.
“She disagrees with ‘stare decisis’ — the idea that cases like Roe v. Wade are settled law in the courts — and instead has said she wants ‘space’ for ‘reargument,’” Schumer tweeted. “The bottom line: Judge Barrett has given every indication that she will be an activist judge on the Court. If chosen as the nominee, she will be the deciding vote to overturn Roe v. Wade and to strike down pre-existing conditions protections in the ACA. #WhatsAtStake”
Amy Coney Barrett is a judge on the Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit & on @realDonaldTrump’s pre-approved list for SCOTUS. She passed his “litmus test” on overturning Roe v. Wade & striking down the ACA. Here’s where she stands on Americans’ big issues:
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) July 2, 2018
Barrett attacked the Supreme Court’s decision upholding the Affordable Care Act, which has helped millions of people secure health insurance coverage. https://t.co/JXJAbCmvN4
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) July 2, 2018
Barrett also fought efforts to ensure that all women have access to contraceptives. https://t.co/voWM3KjeGr
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) July 2, 2018
She disagrees with “stare decisis” – the idea that cases like Roe v. Wade are settled law in the courts – and instead has said she wants “space” for “reargument.” https://t.co/JcWyOx4uZl
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) July 2, 2018
The bottom line: Judge Barrett has given every indication that she will be an activist judge on the Court. If chosen as the nominee, she will be the deciding vote to overturn Roe v. Wade and to strike down pre-existing conditions protections in the ACA. #WhatsAtStake
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) July 2, 2018
Barrett, 46, is considered to be one of the top contenders to fill Justice Anthony Kennedy’s seat on the Supreme Court. Kennedy announced his retirement, effective July 31, last week.
Trump nominated Barrett to the 7th Circuit last year, and she was confirmed in October. She previously worked as a law professor at Notre Dame Law School and clerked for the late Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court.
Trump said he would announce his nominee to the Supreme Court on July 9, setting up what is likely to be a fierce confirmation battle ahead of the November midterm elections.
Democrats have used healthcare and abortion as their two key arguments for opposing Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court, warning that Trump’s nominee could be part of a Supreme Court that overturns Roe v. Wade and eliminates Obamacare’s protections for Americans with pre-existing conditions.
“While the number of Democrats in the Senate is not a majority, the number of senators who believe in protections for those with pre-existing conditions and women’s reproductive rights is,” Schumer wrote in an op-ed for The New York Times published Monday. “Given this vacancy, the best way to defend those rights is for a bipartisan majority in the Senate to lock arms and reject a Supreme Court nominee who would overturn them. It will not happen on its own. It requires the public’s focus on these issues, and its pressure on the Senate.”
