26 Sep Statement on the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to SCOTUS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 26, 2020
Contact: Will Pregman, wpregman@battlebornprogress.org, 702.752.0656
LAS VEGAS, NV – Today, President Donald Trump formally nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett to replace the Supreme Court seat left vacant by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. This action sets the stage for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to move a confirmation process before the election in violation of both the majority public opinion and Justice Ginsburg’s final wish to only be replaced ‘until a new president is installed’.
Annette Magnus, Executive Director of Battle Born Progress, said:
“When Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away, we knew that Trump would nominate someone to further tip the balance of the Court toward protecting powerful, wealthy interests at the expense of regular Americans. Today, he did just that, nominating Judge Amy Coney Barrett. Judge Barrett has a record of decisions and public statements that reveal her hostility towards the Affordable Care Act (ACA), abortion and contraception, safeguarding the environment, LGBTQ+ rights, and gun violence prevention legislation, among other issues.”
“The case regarding the Constitutionality of the ACA is scheduled to be heard by the Court just a week after the election. Judge Barrett wouldn’t have been chosen if Trump had any doubt that she would help solidify a conservative majority to rip away healthcare coverage from millions of Americans, including roughly 1.2 million Nevadans with pre-existing conditions, in the middle of the ongoing public health crisis of COVID-19, which this administration and the Senate Majority Leader refuse to take seriously. The reason Mitch McConnell wants to rush this confirmation isn’t just because he’s an untrustworthy hypocrite, but also because it accomplishes a long-term goal of Trump and the GOP: disempowering working families at the expense of their wealthy donors.”
“There is no question of where McConnell’s priorities lie. For months, Nevadans, and Americans, have been counting on McConnell to come to the table on COVID-19 relief for frontline workers, unemployment benefits, and funding state and local governments to no avail. Yet, he has wasted no time assembling his caucus and whipping votes when it comes to confirming another narrow-minded, far-right extremist judge hand-picked by Trump. Americans are smart enough to see through McConnell’s hypocrisy and remember both he and Lindsey Graham in 2016 justifying not giving Merrick Garland a hearing because it was an election year. So if that’s the standard, this nomination should not be considered until after the inauguration. It’s an insult to Justice Ginsburg’s legacy and her final wishes to move forward with a confirmation process without giving the people a voice in the upcoming election. We’ll be working with our allies, partners, and our Senators, Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen, to do everything possible to prevent any confirmation of a new Justice before voters make their will known.”
About Judge Amy Coney Barrett:
Affordable Care Act
Barrett has publicly disagreed with Chief Justice John Roberts’ decisions on cases concerning the ACA, NFIB v. Sebelius and King v. Burwell. She echoed agreement with Justice Antonin Scalia’s dissenting opinions, writing, “For Justice Scalia and those who share his commitment to uphold text, the measure of a court is its fair-minded application of the rule of law, which means going where the law leads. By this measure, it is illegitimate for the Court to distort either the Constitution or a statute to achieve what it deems a preferable result.” She affirmed this belief again in a 2015 interview with NPR.
Nevada: 371,000 would lose health insurance, 16,332 would lose their job
United States: 29.8 million would lose health insurance, 1.2 million would lose their job
Abortion Rights
Barrett has called Roe v. Wade an “erroneous decision”.
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, where she currently serves, struck down an Indiana law signed by then-Governor Mike Pence outlawing abortion because of fetus being diagnosed with a disability. Barrett dissented in this case, suggesting this law was Constitutional.
Senator Josh Hawley notably said he would not back a SCOTUS nominee unless they believed Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided. Hawley has said, since the announcement, that Barrett meets this standard.
Environmental Protection
Barrett’s record on environmental issues is thin, but some of her decisions reveal willingness to interpret laws like the Clean Water Act in favor of corporations over people. She joined an opinion in 2018 which ruled that the Army Corps of Engineers had no authority to protect a wetland from destruction by a large development firm.
Barrett also appears sympathetic to the nondelegation doctrine, which insulates agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from being directed by an act of Congress to flesh out the details of policies.
LGBTQ+ Rights
The Human Rights Campaign has called Barrett, “an absolute threat to LGBTQ rights”, citing statements she has made criticizing Obergefell v. Hodges, claiming Title IX protections shouldn’t apply to transgender people, and misgendering transgender people to justify this discrimination.
Gun Violence Prevention
The NRA spent $54 million on the 2016 election, including more than $30 million to elect President Trump. The gun lobby has largely approved of President Trump’s judicial nominations. The Brady Campaign produced this report on the implications of Judge Barrett joining the Supreme Court. Her record indicates an “expansive” view of the 2nd Amendment, dissenting from a ruling that banned persons with felony convictions from purchasing firearms and applying a “strict scrutiny” standard to firearm regulations.
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