Harris signals nature of Supreme Court confirmation fight

A weekend statement from Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris offers a hint about the pending fight over President Trump’s latest Supreme Court nomination. Naomi Lim reports for the Washington Examiner.

Sen. Kamala Harris ripped President Trump’s Supreme Court pick in a searing statement, setting up a showdown between the 2020 Democratic vice presidential nominee and Judge Amy Coney Barrett when she appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee next month.

“Just yesterday, I paid my respects to the legendary Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who devoted her life to fighting for Equal Justice Under Law and a more fair and just world,” Harris wrote Saturday. “Her passing is devastating, and it would be a travesty to replace her with a justice who is being selected to undo her legacy and erase everything she did for our country.”

She added, “With the next Supreme Court Justice set to determine the fate of protections for those with preexisting health conditions, and reproductive health options, I will continue to fight on behalf of the people and strongly oppose the president’s nomination.”

Harris, a California senator, sent out her statement via her congressional press office rather than through her and 2020 Democratic standard-bearer Joe Biden’s campaign. The move suggests she’s preparing for a commanding role in Barret’s confirmation hearings, slated to start Oct. 12 and expected to last three days.

Harris, like many Democrats, linked Barrett’s appointment to a critical Obamacare case on the Supreme Court’s docket for Nov. 10 amid the coronavirus pandemic. She also referenced Senate Majority Mitch McConnell’s refusal to advance former President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court candidate Judge Merrick Garland in 2016 because it was an election year.

“Americans across the country are already casting votes, and we will soon know the president and senators who will be sworn in next January,” she said. “We must respect Americans’ voices and allow the winners of the election to nominate and confirm the next Supreme Court Justice.”