Top court fight begins as Trump names nominee

WASHINGTON－United States President Donald Trump announced on Saturday the third Supreme Court pick of his presidency, triggering a bitter confirmation battle on Capitol Hill just weeks before the election day on Nov 3.

Speaking from the White House Rose Garden, Trump said he had nominated Amy Coney Barrett, a conservative federal appellate judge, to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a leading liberal voice on the court who died on Sept 18.

"She is a woman of unparalleled achievement, towering intellect, sterling credentials and unyielding loyalty to the Constitution," Trump said of Barrett.

Barrett, who sits on the bench of the Chicago-based US Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, said she has "no illusions that the road ahead of me will be easy, either for the short term or the long haul".

Trump successfully appointed two conservatives on the Supreme Court, Neil Gorsuch in 2017 and Brett Kavanaugh in 2018, tilting the institution to the right with a 5-4 majority. Barrett, if confirmed by the Senate, would give the conservative wing a solid 6-3 advantage on the country's highest court. Aged 48, she would also be the youngest member of the nine-justice bench.

Republicans, who enjoy a 53-47 advantage in the 100-member Senate, appear to have enough votes to approve Barrett's nomination, and they intend to hold a confirmation vote before the election with an eye to energizing the conservative base.

An emboldened Supreme Court conservative majority could shift the United States to the right on hot-button issues by, among other things, curbing abortion rights, expanding religious rights, striking down gun control laws, halting the expansion of LGBT rights and endorsing new restrictions on voting rights.

Democrats oppose moving forward with a vote on Ginsburg's replacement so close to the election, citing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's decision in 2016 to block then president Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee because it was an election year.

Biden criticizes decision

McConnell issued a statement praising Barrett and pledging to move forward quickly with the confirmation process. But Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden repeated his call for the appointment to be made by the winner of the November election.

"The Senate should not act on this vacancy until after the American people select their next president and the next Congress," Biden said.

The Senate Judiciary Committee reportedly plans to start the official process to confirm Barrett on Oct 12, with a full chamber vote tentatively set for the week of Oct 26.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he "will strongly oppose this nomination", calling it a "shameless" effort to replace Ginsburg less than 40 days before the election. "The American people should make no mistake－a vote by any Senator for judge Amy Coney Barrett is a vote to strike down the Affordable Care Act and eliminate protections for millions of Americans with preexisting conditions," the New York Democrat said in a statement, referring to a healthcare program brought in by Obama.

Barrett, a Roman Catholic and mother of seven, earned her law degree and taught at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.

Xinhua - Agencies