Supreme Court Nominee Amy Coney Barrett’s Senate Hearings Concluded

October 14 marks the last day of hearings for Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation process for her position on the Supreme Court. During these hearings, members of the Senate interview the Supreme Court nominee in order to help decide whether to confirm or deny them for the position. For Amy Coney Barrett’s hearings, the Senate has asked her questions regarding how she would vote on pertinent issues such as abortion.

For the most part, Barrett has not yet confirmed how she will vote on issues. Instead, she turned to how she will interpret the law, which is similar to the views held by former Justice Antonin Scalia. Scalia’s philosophy was “a judge must apply the law as it’s written, not how he wishes it were.” Under this philosophy, Justice Scalia served as the core intellectual for the textual and originalist position of the Court’s conservative wing. 

Barrett stated that she never sought out the Supreme Court nomination and deeply considered it before accepting. She also acknowledged that she will never be able to fully take the place of Ruth Bader Ginsberg. 

During her hearings, Barrett also invoked her children; stating, “When I write an opinion resolving a case, I read every word from the perspective of the losing party. I ask myself how would I view the decision if one of my children was the party I was ruling against.  Even though I would not like the result, would I understand that the decision was fairly reasoned and grounded in the law?”

Though the Senate hearings have concluded, the vote to confirm Barrett for the position could still face a delay in light of the recent Covid-19 cases within the Senate. Before the hearings, the Senate was briefly on lock down in order to keep the disease from spreading further. However, a decision to delay the vote would not be unanimous. 

Senate Republicans are seeking to have the vote conducted before the Nov. 3 election. Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) has stated that if he’s continues to test positive for Covid-19 then he will show up to Capitol Hill in a “moon suit” in order to cast his vote. 

Though the battle to hold the vote might appear to be petty squabbling between the two parties, the appointment of a Supreme Court Justice is a powerful tool for either party to use and shape the future of the United States as a whole. Being an election year, the process of appointing a new justice is more heated than usual. 

If the vote is not conducted prior to the election, the election results will have a direct impact on who may fill the Supreme Court seat left vacant by the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. If Trump wins a second term, Barrett would still remain the nominee to fill the Supreme Court position. However, if Joe Biden wins the presidency, he could nominate his own pick for the Supreme Court.

While the presidency is important, thirty-five seats on the Senate are also being decided in the election. The Republicans currently control the senate, but the Democrats only need to flip four of those thirty-five to take control of the Senate, granted that they hold all of their current senate seats. This means that even if Trump wins a second term, the Democrats could still take control of the Senate and deny the appointment of Barrett. 

If the vote is delayed for long enough, the Democrats have the chance to take both the White House and take control of the Senate at the same time. If this were to happen then Joe Biden’s pick for the Supreme Court would have a high chance of being approved. 

Even if the vote is delayed, Republicans could still maintain control over the White House and the Senate, meaning that Barrett would still be voted on after the election. 

Voters hold more power in this election than they have in previous elections. Not only are they voting for their President and senators, but in a way, they’ll be voting on a Supreme Court justice as well. With this power, they can shape the country’s future policies for years to come.