Vox Sentences - “This is taking us 10 steps back”

Amy Coney Barrett's Senate hearing is underway; Europe is dealing with another Covid-19 surge.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Benjamin Rosenberg.

• The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing for Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court began Monday, despite Republican Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who both sit on the committee, testing positive for Covid-19 earlier this month. [NPR / Claudia Grisales]
• The first day of the hearing lasted roughly five hours. The Democrats focused their questions on health care — the Affordable Care Act is thought to be in jeopardy with Barrett on the Court — while Republicans said the Democrats were biased against Barrett because she is Catholic. [ABC News / Benjamin Siegel]
• Sen. Kamala Harris of California, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, gave her opening statement remotely but discussed the ACA, saying “that’s a big reason why Republicans are rushing this process… to ensure they can strip away the protections of the Affordable Care Act.” [FiveThirtyEight / Amelia Thompson-DeVeaux]
• Barrett, meanwhile drew heavily on her experience clerking for the late Justice Antonin Scalia, saying they share a similar conservative legal philosophy. She also mentioned that she would be the only justice without a law degree from Harvard or Yale. [CNN / Jeremy Herb]
• At just 48, Barrett could be on her way to a decades-long career on the Court, and her confirmation would mean a 6-3 conservative majority. This has prompted some Democrats to consider adding additional justices to the Court should they take the White House and the Senate. [Vox / Ian Millhiser]
• The hearings continued Tuesday, and Barrett said she adheres to the principle of stare decisis, which essentially means the Supreme Court will not overturn a previous ruling without good reason. The issue came up in the context of Roe v. Wade, which many fear could be upended. [Washington Post / Amber Phillips]
• Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey noted the strangeness of the moment, repeating “this is not normal” throughout his opening statement. He said in the likely event that Barrett is confirmed, women will be “denied the ability to make decisions about their own bodies.” [Slate / Daniel Politi]
• After Republicans took control of the Senate in the 2014 midterm elections, they blocked nearly every judicial appointment President Barack Obama made during his final two years in office. As a result, Trump has had nearly as many judges confirmed in one term as Obama had in two. [Vox / Ian Millhiser]
• Republicans appear to have the votes necessary to confirm Barrett, which could happen as soon as Thursday. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, the committee chair, acknowledged in his opening statement that the vote would likely fall directly along party lines. [NYT / Nicholas Fandos]