Democrats targeting healthcare during Supreme Court hearings
Ranking member U.S. Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) during the Senate Judiciary Committee on the first day of the Supreme Court confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on October 12, 2020 in Washington, DC. Barrett was nominated by President Donald Trump to
WASHINGTON - Presidential candidate Joe Biden says Senate Democrats should make health care the focus of Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings, not the conservative judge’s Catholic faith.
Biden is also a practicing Catholic. He told reporters ahead of a campaign trip to Ohio on Monday he doesn’t think “there’s any question about her faith.”
READ MORE: Amy Coney Barrett: Confirmation hearings begin for Trump’s Supreme Court nominee
Biden says the more important matter is that “this nominee says she wants to get rid of the Affordable Care Act.”
During Monday’s hearing, California Senator Diane Feinstein targeted healthcare, saying “healthcare coverage for millions of Americans is at stake.”
READ MORE: Where does Amy Coney Barrett stand on key issues
Feinstein, the top Democrat on the panel, says the president has promised to appoint justices who will vote to undo the Obama-era Affordable Care Act. The Trump administration is challenging the law in a case that will be heard by the Supreme Court on Nov. 10.
Before Barrett was a federal judge, she questioned the reasoning behind Chief Justice John Roberts’ majority opinion upholding the 2010 health care law. The law is being challenged again, with oral arguments set for Nov. 10, a week after the election.
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Biden warns Barrett’s quick confirmation would mean “20 million Americans may lose their health care.”
Feinstein and Democrats are expected to focus on healthcare during the hearings. Feinstein still faces criticism for her comments during Barrett’s 2017 confirmation hearing to be a federal judge.
Feinstein had joined Republicans on the panel in asking Barrett about her Roman Catholic faith, but then went further by telling Barrett, then a Notre Dame law professor, that “when you read your speeches, the conclusion one draws is that the dogma lives loudly within you. ″
Republicans are pushing to confirm Barrett before Election Day.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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