By Alysha Conner
On September 26, President Trump announced his candidacy for Judge Amy Coney Barrett to fill the U.S. Supreme Court vacancy.
Barrett, 48, is a judge on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago. She left her job as a law professor at the University of Notre Dame in 2017 after Trump nominated her to the appeals court.
Before being named to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, a significant position in the U.S. judiciary, Barrett had never served as a judge.
The Seventh Circuit handles court appeals from seven federal court districts in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin.
Trump’s nomination to place Barrett on Supreme Court Justice came just days following the death of Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on September 18.
Here are three reasons explaining the controversy behind Trump nominating Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.
1: Dying Wishes of the Late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Shortly before her passing, Ginsburg requested what she would like to see happen to her seat on the Supreme Court.
Clara Spera, a lawyer and Ginsburg’s granddaughter, reported to NPR that Ginsburg had dictated the following statement days before she died: “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.”
In response to the announcement of the 87-year-old justice wishes, Trump has implied that Democratic politicians are the ones who conspired and wrote Ginsburg’s statement.
“I don’t know that she said that, or was that written out by Adam Schiff and Schumer and Pelosi,” said Trump.
“I would be more inclined to the second, OK? That came out of the wind,” Trump said. “It sounds so beautiful. But that sounds like a Schumer deal or maybe a Pelosi or shifty Schiff. So that came out of the wind. Let’s see. I mean, maybe she did, and maybe she didn’t.”
2: Election Day Is Just Days Away.
The November 3 presidential elections are approaching, and Democrats have criticized Trump for moving to push the nominee.
Democratic politicians are saying that the winner of the election should be the one to choose Ginsburg’s replacement.
Joe Biden gave a speech on September 27 on Trump’s Supreme Court nomination of Amy Coney Barrett.
“Before Justice Ginsburg could be laid to rest and after a hundred thousand Americans had already cast their ballots, the president nominated a successor to her seat. It’s no mystery about what’s happening here,” said Biden.
“President Trump sees a chance to fulfill his explicit mission: steal away the vital protections of the ACA from countless families who’ve come to rely on them for their health, their financial security, and the lives of those they love.”
3: It Could Lead To the Overturn of Obamacare.
Many Democrats have opposing views to Barrett’s nomination, saying they fear she will dismantle former President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act.
Barrett has emphasized her distaste for the Affordable Care Act in a 2017 law review essay, which blasted Chief Justice John Roberts’ legal rationale for saving the law.
A case challenging the constitutionality of Obamacare is scheduled forNovember 10. The case was brought by Republican attorney generals from Texas and other Republican-led states.
Should Barrett be elected into the Supreme Court before the hearing, she will be included in the fate of the Obama Administration’s signature achievement.
“President Trump would nominate Judge Amy Coney Barrett and, on Sunday, layout clearly what his objective is: to terminate Obamacare,” said Biden.
“The judge has a written track record, a written track record of disagreeing adamantly with the Supreme Court’s decisions on two occasions upholding the ACA. In fact, not as a judge, but prior to going on the bench, she publicly criticized Chief Justice Roberts’ opinion upholding the law eight years ago.”
