Judge Amy Coney Barrett testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday, Oct. 12, 2020 (C-SPAN video screenshot)
U.S. Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, presently a judge on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, told senators on Monday she believes in the power of prayer.
But it's likely Democrats who are adamantly opposed to President Trump's decision to nominate a replacement to the seat left open by the death of Ruth Ginsburg won't be attacking her faith again, as they did during her hearing for the appeals court.
That's when her Catholic faith was noted, and she was warned that the "dogma lives loudly within you," even though the U.S. Constitution forbids a religious test for public office.
At the opening of her hearing in a Senate committee on Monday, she recalled the late Justice Antonin Scalia, who taught her that the law must be applied "as it is written," not as a judge wishes it were written.
"That is what it means to say we have a government of laws not of men," she said.
She confirmed that courts in America are not designed to "solve every problem or right every wrong."
And policy decisions, she said, must be made by the political branches.
She also added, "I believe in the power of prayer," while thanking Americans who have offered her their prayers and support.
Democrats, in fact, are expected to pull a stunt in opposition to her appointment – refusing to show up for a vote.
At least, that's what Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said.
Schumer, a Democrat from New York, said on Sunday that his party won't supply "quorum" for the votes.
In the full Senate, the quorum is 51 members, and there are 53 Republicans, so any decision to boycott by Democrats won't likely affect progress there.
However, in the Judiciary Committee, a quorum is nine, and that includes two in the minority Democratic party.
"We will talk about when the actual vote occurs in committee and on the floor. Democrats will not supply the quorum," Schumer said. "Period."
While that could provide a delay in committee actions, it is not likely, in the end, to alter the outcome.
Fox News said: "Most notably, the Senate can vote on a discharge resolution that would remove the responsibility of considering the Barrett nomination from the committee, allowing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to call the nomination for a full vote. The committee itself could also change its rules to get rid of the requirement that two Democrats be present, James Wallner, a senior resident fellow for governance at the R Street Institute told Fox News."
Wallner described the Democrats' moves making "as painful as possible" for Republicans.
Democrats in the Senate already have refused to participate in the usual round of courtesy visits Barrett offered to provide them.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said he believes the Democrats will line up "some more procedural games and shenanigans."
Democrats have called the nomination process and hearing schedule illegitimate, and even "unconstitutional" because they oppose the judicial philosophy of Barrett, who is described as an originalist, ruling from the words of the Constitution itself.
Ginsburg, whom she would replace, instead favored interpreting the Constitution in the light of her own views, such as when she voted to create the right to same-sex marriage in a decision Chief Justice John Roberts called unrelated to the Constitution.
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