Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett, exactly two weeks into her new job, is on Tuesday hearing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) case that Democrats hammered her over throughout her confirmation hearings and has the potential to overturn the law that is former President Obama’s signature legislative achievement.
The newly minted justice and the rest of the court are participating in remote oral arguments via teleconference that are streamed live online.
Barrett’s questioning in the case, which is formally called California v. Texas, and where she comes down in the eventual ruling handed down by the court, will be closely watched by partisans on both sides – by Republicans who hope she will cement a 6-3 GOP-appointed majority that will interpret laws consistent with how they see them and by Democrats who fear that she will be a partisan who strikes down left-leaning laws and upholds those favored by conservatives.
“A vote by any senator for Judge Barrett is a vote to rip away health care from millions of Americans,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said repeatedly through Barrett’s confirmation process. Read more…
