US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, 29 September, defended his decision to nominate Justice Amy Coney Barrett as a judge in the country’s Supreme Court, saying that he had the right to do so.
Just a week after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg's death, Trump on 24 September announced his nominee for her replacement – Judge Amy Coney Barrett. Barrett is known for her support of the “pro-life” movement against abortion laws.
“We won the election. Elections have consequences. We have the Senate, we have the White House and we have a phenomenal nominee respected by all. Some of her biggest endorsers are very liberal people," Trump said during the first presidential debate just over a month ahead of the US elections.
“We won the election, and therefore, we had the right to choose her,” he added.
(Watch the First US Presidential Debate here.)
What Biden Said
Biden, on the other hand, said Barrett and Trump want to get rid of the Affordable Care Act. “The American people have a right to say who the Supreme court nominee should be because they vote for Senate and president. They will not get a chance now because we are in the middle of an election already. The thing which should happen is that we should wait and see what the outcome of this election is," he said.
"What's at stake here, as the president's made it clear, he wants to get rid of the Affordable Care Act. He's in the Supreme Court right now trying to get rid of the Affordable Care Act, which will strip 20 million people from having health insurance now, if it goes to the Supreme Court," Biden added.
Barrett’s appointment marks an enormous shift in the US Supreme Court’s centre of gravity. According to one analysis of her ideological leanings, Barrett will be the third-most conservative justice in US Supreme Court.
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