Daily US Times: Donald Trump’s nominee for the US Supreme Court, Amy Coney Barrett testifies in Senate confirmation hearing where she said she is “honoured and humbled” to be President Trump’s pick.
The 48-year-old conservative-leaning jurist vowed to judge legal cases impartially.
But her selection comes just weeks ahead of 3 November presidential election has sparked a fierce political battle.
The panel’s Republican chairman has predicted a “contentious week” of questioning ahead.
Her approval would cement a 6-3 conservative majority on the nine-member court, altering the ideological balance of the court for potentially several decades to come.
Mr Trump picked Judge Barrett to replace liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died last month at the age of 87.
In her opening statement on Monday’s hearing, Mrs Barrett told senators: “I have been nominated to fill Justice Ginsburg’s seat, but no one will ever take her place.”
“I will be forever grateful for the path she marked and the life she led,” she added.
However, conservative decisions and views from the bench she has served as a judge on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals – of which much can be seen as opposing to the philosophy of the late Justice Ginsburg, popularly known as notorious RBG – will be heavily scrutinised by Democrats who oppose her confirmation.
Republicans currently hold a slim majority in the US Senate, the body that confirms Supreme Court judges. Republican senators are trying to complete the process before Mr Trump takes on Democratic rival Joe Biden in the election.
The nine justices in the US Supreme Court serve lifetime appointments, and their rulings can shape public policy on everything from campaign finance, gun and voting rights to abortion.
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