The Senate Judiciary Committee will continue Thursday with the fourth and final day of hearings on Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett. Republicans have the votes to send her confirmation to the full floor for a vote, although the committee is expected to delay the vote until next week.
The full Senate is likely to vote on October 26. With Republicans’ three-seat majority, her confirmation is all but assured.
The Judiciary Committee on Thursday will hear witness statements from eight witnesses, four chosen by Democrats and four chosen by Republicans. There could be additional statements on her nomination, but the questioning period has ended.
How to watch the Amy Coney Barrett Senate hearing
- What: Senate Judiciary hearings on the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court
- Date: Thursday, October 15
- Time: 9 a.m. ET
- CBSN coverage: Preshow coverage begins at 8:30 a.m. ET
- Location: Capitol Hill
- Online stream: Live on CBSN — in the player above and on your mobile or streaming device
During questioning on Tuesday and Wednesday, Barrett refused to give her opinion on contested legal issues that may come before the Supreme Court, including health care, abortion, and other areas — a path taken through confirmation hearings by past Supreme Court nominees of both Republican and Democratic presidents.
Democrats pushed Barrett on how closely her jurisprudence would follow that of her mentor, the late Justice Antonin Scalia, since Barrett has said they shared the same judicial philosophy. She reiterated that while both believed in the theory of originalism — interpreting the Constitution based on the Founders’ intentions — she would not necessarily decide cases in the same manner.
“I assure you I have my own mind. Everything that he said is not necessarily what I would agree with or what I would do if I was Justice Barrett,” Barrett said of Scalia.
