Under questioning by senators, Judge Amy Coney Barrett carefully avoided staking out positions on most issues, but hinted that she wouldn’t necessarily support overturning the Affordable Care Act.
Democrats will look to portray Judge Barrett as an ideologue who would throw out the Affordable Care Act and Roe v. Wade. Republicans will seek to keep the hearings moving speedily.
The possible addition of Judge Amy Coney Barrett could create “the Trump court,” pushing it rightward. Cases on the Affordable Care Act and religious objections to gay rights could offer early clues.
Senate Democrats forced a mostly symbolic vote on the Affordable Care Act, previewing their strategy of making the Supreme Court confirmation fight a referendum on health care, a top voter concern.
The health law had slipped in voter priorities, but the Supreme Court vacancy and November arguments in a case challenging its constitutionality have given the Affordable Care Act new urgency.
The Affordable Care Act touches the lives of most Americans, and its abolition could have a significant effect on many millions more people than those who get their health coverage through it.
On Tuesday night, President Trump told a town-hall-style meeting he had a health plan to replace the Affordable Care Act that’s “all ready,” a pitch he has delivered for four years.
The order expands on a presidential promise by trying to reduce the prices Medicare pays for prescription drugs, but experts said it was unclear whether the White House could carry out the directive.