Supreme Court hearings: Coney Barrett sidesteps Dianne Feinstein's questions on abortion, Trump

Oct. 13--Democrats knew they would have trouble slowing down the confirmation hearing of President Trump's Supreme Court nominee, but Tuesday's exchange between Judge Amy Coney Barrett and California Sen. Dianne Feinstein presented a strong indication of the power imbalance playing out on Capitol Hill.

When Feinstein asked the judge whether Trump, who made unfounded claims of voter fraud and suggested he could delay the presidential election, had the authority to "unilaterally delay a general election under any circumstances," Coney Barrett declined to answer, saying she would need to hear arguments from litigants and read briefs before reaching a conclusion.

"If I give off-the-cuff answers," the nominee said, "I would be basically a legal pundit and I don't think we want judges to be legal pundits."

And when Feinstein, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, asked Coney Barrett about the most hot-button issue -- abortion -- she sidestepped again.

"Do you agree with Justice Scalia's view that Roe can and should be overturned by the Supreme Court?" the 87-year-old former San Francisco mayor asked Coney Barrett, referring to the late conservative Justice Antonin Scalia and Roe v. Wade, the landmark case that said a woman has the right to an abortion.

"It's a contentious issue, which is I know one reason why it would be comforting to you to have an answer," Coney Barrett said, "but I can't express views on cases or pre-commit to approaching a case any particular way."

While Feinstein said it was "distressing not to get a straight answer" on the issue of abortion, she has little power to stop the Republican-led Senate from confirming Coney Barrett, who is widely expected to join and cement the court's conservative majority -- which has sparked fear among Democrats and liberal activists that she could help overturn everything from abortion rights to the Affordable Care Act.

California's two U.S. senators are slated to play a significant role in Coney Barrett's confirmation hearing this week.

California's junior Sen. Kamala Harris, who is slated to question the nominee later, likely on Wednesday, is expected to showcase her trademark prosecutorial skills while also trying not to alienate potential voters in her role as Joe Biden's running mate.

In her opening remarks as the hearing kicked off Monday, Feinstein said the "stakes are extraordinarily high for the American people." She said she and the Democrats would focus on the subject of health care -- pointing out that Trump said he would appoint people committed to overturning the Affordable Care Act.

The vice presidential nominee drew widespread admiration from Democrats for her intense questioning of then-Supreme Court nominee, now-Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Harris asked him whether he could identify any laws that give government the power to make decisions about men's bodies, leaving Kavanaugh deeply uncomfortable. While the moment energized some women's rights advocates, conservatives accused Harris of being too antagonistic. This year, such questioning could be politically risky for the Biden-Harris ticket.

Like Feinstein, Harris in her opening remarks Monday focused on health care and the possibility of a conservative court dismantling the Affordable Care Act. She focused largely on the Trump administration and Republicans, not Coney Barrett specifically.

Speaking from her Senate office, Harris also called holding the hearings in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic "reckless."

Check back for updates.

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