Barrett’s Confirmation To High Court Likely A Sure Thing As Hearings End

The Washington Post: Amy Coney Barrett Testimony Ends With GOP Predicting Clear Path To Confirmation 
Senate Republicans predicted clear sailing for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett as she concluded her confirmation testimony Wednesday, and said she will forge a new and prominent path as a conservative, religious woman who opposes abortion. “There is nothing wrong with confirming to the Supreme Court of the United States a devout Catholic, pro-life Christian,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said as he pledged his support for Barrett. (Barnes, Min Kim and Marimow, 10/14)

USA Today: Democrats Concede Amy Coney Barrett Likely To Be Confirmed But Warn Of 'Conservative Judicial Activism'
Democrats warned Wednesday that Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett's almost certain confirmation could launch a new chapter of conservative judicial activism, though the federal appeals court judge sought to portray herself as a mainstream jurist without any agenda. As the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing drew toward a close Wednesday, several Democrats acknowledged Barrett would be confirmed to succeed the late liberal Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, most likely by a party-line vote before Election Day. (Wolf, 10/14)

KHN: Outnumbered On High Court Nomination, Democrats Campaign For A Different Vote 
Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee know that, barring something unexpected, they lack the votes to block President Donald Trump from installing his third justice in four years on the Supreme Court and creating a 6-3 conservative majority. They also know that, in a normal year, by mid-October Congress would be out of session and members home campaigning. But 2020 is obviously no normal year. So, while the rest of Congress is home, Democratic Judiciary members are trying something very different in the hearings for nominee Amy Coney Barrett. Rather than prosecuting their case against Barrett, currently a federal appeals court judge, they are refighting the war that helped them pick up seats in 2018 — banging on Republicans for trying to eliminate the Affordable Care Act. (Rovner, 10/15)

The Washington Post: Takeaways From Day 3 Of Amy Coney Barrett’s Confirmation Hearing
Wednesday was the final day of questioning in the confirmation hearing for President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett. Republicans have the votes to approve her nomination out of the Judiciary Committee and onto the Senate floor, where it’s likely she could be confirmed by a Republican-only vote before the election — and be on the court in time to hear a case this November on the Affordable Care Act, as well as any election-related cases. (Phillips, 10/14)

Politico: 5 Takeaways From The Amy Coney Barrett Hearings 
Despite the political fireworks over Senate Republicans’ decision to proceed with Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court confirmation days before a presidential election, the second day of her questioning on Capitol Hill offered few flashes of light or heat. Democrats again sought to grill the former Notre Dame law professor about her views, but she remained tight-lipped on issues like abortion, Obamacare, climate change and the possibility of a contested election, offering scant new hints about how she would vote on hot-button matters that are already at the high court or may wind up there soon. (Gerstein, 10/14)

On the subject of abortion —

NPR: Pressed On Landmark Contraception Case, Barrett Again Declines To Answer
Judge Amy Coney Barrett declined to answer a question Wednesday from Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., about whether the Supreme Court ruling that protects the right to buy and use contraception was correctly decided. The 7-2 decision in Griswold v. Connecticut is viewed as the basis for Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that legalized a woman's right to abortion nationwide. Instead of directly answering Coons' question about whether the Supreme Court made the appropriate ruling in Griswold, Barrett said she found it unlikely that decision would ever be overturned. (Raphelson, 10/14)

The Atlantic: Will Amy Coney Barrett Overturn Roe V. Wade? 
Amy Coney Barrett could no longer avoid the question that has defined her nomination to fill Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat on the Supreme Court: “Do you agree,” asked Senator Dianne Feinstein of California during confirmation hearings today, “that Roe was wrongly decided?” “I completely understand why you are asking the question,” Barrett responded, looking grave. But “I can’t pre-commit or say, ‘Yes, I’m going in with some agenda,’ because I’m not. I don’t have any agenda.” The question may be unavoidable, but that doesn’t mean she will answer it. (Green, 10/13)

On the subject of Obamacare —

The Hill: Barrett Signals ObamaCare Could Survive Mandate Being Struck Down 
Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett on Wednesday signaled that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) could survive a court challenge from the Trump administration. Top senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee quizzed President Trump's nominee on a looming case that could determine the fate of the ACA. (Carney, 10/14)

Modern Healthcare: Barrett: Judges Should Presume Laws Can Be Saved If Part Is Thrown Out
Judge Amy Coney Barrett on Wednesday said judges should presume that a larger law can be saved even when part of it is ruled unconstitutional. Senators pushed Judge Amy Coney Barrett to clarify her perspective on severability, a legal doctrine that may be key to the Affordable Care Act's survival before the Supreme Court. The Senate is on schedule to confirm Barrett before the justices hear arguments on Nov. 10 in California v. Texas, a case in which Republican attorneys general and the Trump administration argue the entire ACA should be struck down because Congress zeroed out the individual mandate. (Cohrs, 10/14)

The Hill: Republicans: Supreme Court Won't Toss ObamaCare 
Senate Republicans are downplaying the chances that the Supreme Court will strike down ObamaCare as Democrats seek to hammer the GOP on the issue ahead of the elections. As Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett testifies this week before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Democrats are drilling in on a Republican-backed lawsuit seeking to strike down the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that the high court will hear one week after Election Day. (Sullivan, 10/14)

Also —

The New York Times: Why ‘Supermom’ Gets Star Billing On Resumes For Public Office 
During Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings this week, Republican senators, one after another, marveled at a role that doesn’t appear on her résumé: mother of seven. They described her mothering as “tireless” and “remarkable,” clear evidence that she was a “superstar.” Senator Josh Hawley asked her for parenting advice. Judge Barrett has embraced the image. News cameras were there to watch her load her large family into her car before her official nomination. “While I am a judge, I’m better known back home as a room parent, car-pool driver and birthday party planner,” she said the day she was nominated. ... For American women in public office, being a mother has become a powerful but tricky credential. ... Little of this is required of men. Compare, for example, the confirmation hearings in 1986 of Justice Antonin Scalia, a mentor of Judge Barrett. Senators welcomed his children to the hearings and offered them breaks, but spent little, if any, time connecting his fatherhood to his professional life. (Cain Miller and Haridasani Gupta, 10/14)