WASHINGTON — Amy Coney Barrett, President Donald Trump's nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, faced senators for the first time Monday on day one of her confirmation hearing.
Barrett, nominated to replace the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg, said in her opening statement that she would interpret the laws "as they are written."
She is Trump's third nominee for the nation's highest court, following Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, who were both confirmed as justices.
Iowa senators Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley, both Republicans, spoke Monday during the Senate Judiciary Committee's opening round of remarks.
"A good judge understands it's not the court's place to rewrite the law as it sees fit. It's not his or her place to let policy personal or moral principles dictate an outcome of a case," Grassley said. "We are fortunate Judge Barrett's record really clearly reflects this standard."
"I firmly believe in the role of our Supreme Court. It is the defender of our Constitution," Ernst said. "At the end of the day, that's my test for a Supreme Court justice: Will you defend the Constitution?"
"It frustrates me and it frustrates my fellow Iowans that the Supreme Court has become a super-legislature for a congress that frankly won't come together, discuss these tough issues and do its job."
Democrats on the committee focused on how Barrett's nomination could impact the Affordable Care Act or Roe v. Wade.
"We've already seen hints... over the past few weeks, immediately attacking your faith and your precious family," Ernst said. "Instead of entering into this nomination process with an open mind and a desire to understand this woman who has been nominated for the highest court in the land, the focus is on a plan or a strategy, a series of tactics, to undermine, coerce, and confuse the American people."
The Senate Judiciary Committee consists of 12 Republicans and 10 Democrats, meaning that a party-line vote would send Barrett's nomination to the full Senate.
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