Democrats won’t forget power grab, says Indian American VP candidate.
As Amy Coney Barrett was sworn as a Supreme Court judge at a White House ceremony, Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris admonished Senate Republicans for confirming her in what Democrats have described as a “power grab.”
“Today Republicans denied the will of the American people by confirming a Supreme Court justice through an illegitimate process,” the Indian American senator said Monday minutes after Barrett was officially confirmed to the court.
Describing it as an “effort to gut the Affordable Care Act and strip health care from millions with pre-existing conditions,” Harris as cited by the Hill vowed, “We won’t forget this.”
Barrett was confirmed 52-48 along a largely party-line vote on the Senate floor Monday, just eight days before the Nov. 3 presidential election, to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg who died last month.
During Barrett’s confirmation hearings, Harris, a former prosecutor and attorney general of California, grilled the justice about her stance on climate change.
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“Do you believe that climate change is happening and is threatening the air we breathe and the water we drink?” Harris asked Barrett.
“I will not express a view on a matter of public policy, especially one that is politically controversial,” the justice responded.
“Thank you Judge Barrett,” Harris said. “You’ve made your point clear that you believe it’s a debatable point.”
READ MORE: Road to the White House
At a White House ceremony Monday evening, capping a weeks-long partisan fight over her nomination, President Donald Trump praised Barrett’s “sterling character” and “impeccable credentials.”
“Justice Barrett made clear she will issue rulings based solely upon a faithful reading of the law and the Constitution as written not legislate from the bench,” Trump said at the ceremony just an hour after the Senate vote.
In turn, Barrett vowed to be fair and independent. “The oath that I have solemnly taken tonight means at its core that I will do my job without any fear or favor and that I will do so independently of both the political branches and of my own preferences,”
Barrett, 48, who previously served as a judge on the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, is the third justice nominated by Trump to the top court, following Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.
Her confirmation cements the 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court, leaving Trump’s mark on the apex court for a long time even if he loses the Nov. 3 election.