Senate draws battle lines over Barrett as pick for top court

Obamacare was front and center as US President Donald Trump's latest Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, came before the US Senate on the first day of fast-tracked confirmation hearings that began on Monday.

Before the hearings, Senate Democrats expressed strong opposition to Barrett's nomination based largely on her past positions on abortion rights and the 2010 Affordable Care Act, or ACA, popularly known as Obamacare.

If confirmed by election day, as Trump intends, Barrett could be on the high court in time to participate in a Republican-led case seeking to overturn Obamacare that will be argued from Nov 10, which is why the ACA was the focus of attention by Democrats during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.

A pivotal ACA provision that would be thrown out if the highest court strikes the law down bars insurance companies from denying coverage to those with pre-existing medical conditions.

Repeated Republican efforts to repeal Obamacare in Congress over the past decade have fallen short, so Republicans have taken the effort to the courts.

During Monday's hearings, Democrats displayed posters of patients who could lose their medical coverage if Obamacare is invalidated, with senators recounting their own stories of healthcare challenges.

"One judge can decide if millions of Americans lose the right to keep their children on their insurance until they are 26 years old. One judge can decide that a senior's prescription drugs, which are already too high, could soar even higher," said Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat, who recounted how her husband and father contracted COVID-19.

Republican Senator Ted Cruz said the Democratic focus on healthcare showed they were not contesting Barrett's qualifications to serve as a justice.

Conservative figure

Barrett, a conservative appellate court judge nominated by Trump to replace the liberal justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died on Sept 18, gave an opening statement that focused on judicial impartiality.

"I believe Americans of all backgrounds deserve an independent Supreme Court that interprets our Constitution and laws as they are written," Barrett said, reading from prepared remarks. She did not take any questions on Monday.

Barrett's confirmation would give the court a 6-3 conservative majority that could conceivably lead, liberals fear, to rulings rolling back abortion rights, expanding religious and gun rights and upholding voting restrictions, among other issues.

"I do believe this hearing is a clear attempt to jam through a Supreme Court nominee who will take away healthcare from millions of people during a deadly pandemic," said Democratic Senator Kamala Harris via a video link.

Harris, the running mate of Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, called the confirmation process "illegitimate "because it comes so close to the Nov 3 election. Voting is already underway in 40 states.

"A clear majority of Americans want whomever wins the election to fill this seat, and my Republican colleagues know that. Yet they are deliberately defying the will of the people in their attempt to roll back the rights and protections provided under the Affordable Care Act," Harris said.

Similarly, Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont condemned the GOP's "mad rush" to fill the vacancy.

Barrett can expect extensive questioning from senators on Tuesday and Wednesday. The four-day hearing is a key step before a full Senate vote by the end of October on her confirmation to a lifetime seat on the court.

Republicans hold a 53-47 Senate majority, making Barrett's confirmation all but certain.

Agencies via Xinhua contributed to this story.