Judge Amy Coney Barrett is being "shoved down our throat" to stack the Supreme Court in time for proceedings in November that could determine the fate of the Affordable Care Act, Sen. Mazie Hirono said Monday.
"My biggest concern is that she's being pushed to be on this court, that she'll be sitting there to hear the Affordable Care Act case on Nov. 10," the Hawaii Democrat said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" about President Donald Trump's nominee to succeed late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
"She'll be a vote to break down the Affordable Care Act and therefore millions of people, including about 100,000 people with preexisting conditions will no longer have [its] protection," she argued.
It's "near and dear" to Trump and Republicans to end the ACA, said Hirono. "They're going to accomplish it by putting her on the court in as fast a process as possible. This process shouldn't be happening, but the Republicans are not keeping their word."
Republicans are aiming to have Barrett confirmed by the end of October, just days before the presidential election on Nov 3.
Hirono, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said she will not meet with Barrett before her confirmation proceedings.
"I'm going to spend my time questioning with her under oath," said Hirono. "People are saying I should extend the courtesy. When the president extends the courtesy to the American people to not lie to us and to tell us the truth, then I'll extend the courtesy to their nominee for the Supreme Court."
The Trump administration has accused Democrats of attacking Barrett for her Catholic faith, but Hirono said the judge's faith is "immaterial." What matters, she said, is whether the nominee will be able to separate her "deeply held views" on abortion and other issues from her ability to be objective.
“I have concerns about her willingness to overturn Supreme Court precedent," Hirono said. "She's written about that. And so, I would like to know what kind of factors would she apply in her determination that a previous Supreme Court decision was wrong."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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