Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer may have revealed his own greatest fear as President Donald Trump moves to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy.
In a series of tweets on Monday, the New York Senator listed a series of grave concerns about potential nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett — beginning by claiming she’d passed Trump’s “litmus test” regarding overturning “Roe v. Wade” (in spite of the fact that Trump himself told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo that he did not even intend to ask potential nominees about that particular case).
Amy Coney Barrett is a judge on the Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit & on @realDonaldTrump’s pre-approved list for SCOTUS. She passed his “litmus test” on overturning Roe v. Wade & striking down the ACA. Here’s where she stands on Americans’ big issues:
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) July 2, 2018
Schumer bemoaned Barrett’s opinions on health care after Barrett questioned Chief Justice Roberts for rewriting the penalty as a tax in order to uphold the Affordable Care Act.
Barrett attacked the Supreme Court’s decision upholding the Affordable Care Act, which has helped millions of people secure health insurance coverage. https://t.co/JXJAbCmvN4
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) July 2, 2018
He also claimed that she was against access to contraceptives, citing her opposition to religious employers being forced to provide contraceptives with which they disagreed on moral grounds.
Barrett also fought efforts to ensure that all women have access to contraceptives. https://t.co/voWM3KjeGr
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) July 2, 2018
Schumer also argued that her openness to the “reargument” of “Roe v. Wade” — which he called “settled law” — was cause for additional concern.
She disagrees with “stare decisis” – the idea that cases like Roe v. Wade are settled law in the courts – and instead has said she wants “space” for “reargument.” https://t.co/JcWyOx4uZl
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) July 2, 2018
The bottom line: Judge Barrett has given every indication that she will be an activist judge on the Court. If chosen as the nominee, she will be the deciding vote to overturn Roe v. Wade and to strike down pre-existing conditions protections in the ACA. #WhatsAtStake
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) July 2, 2018
(RELATED: These Are Trump’s Two Top Picks For The Supreme Court)
Schumer has clearly drawn a line in the sand, but President Trump may have drawn one of his own. He has said on numerous occasions that he plans to put a “conservative” justice on the court, one not unlike his first pick, Justice Neil Gorsuch. And early reports indicate that Barrett, along with Judge Brett Kavanaugh, are near the top of the list.