Supreme Court Nominee Barrett Faces Final Day of Questioning in Confirmation Hearings

Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett continued to defend her judicial independence and impartiality during the third day of the confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Following an 11-hour hearing the day before, Barrett on Oct. 14 faced a second day of questioning from committee members, who quizzed her about voting rights, Medicare, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), climate change, immigration, among other social issues. Some senators made further attempts to press the judge into acknowledging constitutional limits on presidential power.

Barrett, who exercised prudence during the first round of questioning, continued to invoke the standard that judges shouldn’t offer their opinion on cases, hypotheticals, or “grade” precedents, and should avoid expressing their views on issues that might come before the courts.

Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) opened the second of two days of questioning by expressing how “proud” he was of Barrett for shattering “a reinforced concrete barrier around conservative women.”