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Confirmation Hearings for Trump Supreme Court Nominee Reach Final Day

Katherine Gypson

   WASHINGTON - Members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee are set to
   hear Thursday from witnesses supporting and opposing the Supreme Court
   nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett as the panel finishes its
   confirmation hearings.

   Democrats are expected to invoke committee rules to push a final vote
   on Barrett's nomination by a week to Oct. 22. A vote in the full Senate
   could come by the end of the month.

   Wednesday marked the third day of the hearings, with Democrats again
   pressing Barrett on a key upcoming case that if overturned could impact
   healthcare for millions of Americans.

   Barrett reiterated she is not hostile to the Affordable Care Act, the
   Obama administration healthcare law that will face a challenge before
   the nation's highest court on Nov. 10.

   "A judge needs to have an open mind, every step of the way," Barrett
   told senators Wednesday. "If I were to just say how I thought I would
   resolve a case just because I saw the issue, it would be
   short-circuiting that whole process through which I should go."

   Wednesday was the second day of questions for U.S. President Donald
   Trump's Supreme Court nominee after a nearly 12-hour session Tuesday in
   which Barrett declined to answer a range of questions from senators on
   how she might rule on legal disputes she would face if confirmed to
   fill a crucial vacancy on the country's highest court.

   Barrett has told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee conducting
   her confirmation hearing this week that she wouldn't let her personal
   and religious views determine how she would decide cases.

   "I have no agenda," Barrett said Tuesday. "I'll follow the law."

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