Amy Coney Barrett?s Supreme Court confirmation hearing has a surreal yet normal start

The opening day of Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation hearing felt both surreal and oddly routine.About a week and a half after two members of the Senate Judiciary Committee tested positive for the coronavirus, masked lawmakers gathered to make opening statements, with some including Sens. As Democrats tried to emphasize how Barrett would threaten the Affordable Care Act if she ascends to the high court, Republicans touted her credentials as a Notre Dame law professor and misleadingly deflected concerns about her nomination as attacks on her Catholic faith. “The public should not expect courts to do so, and courts should not try.”Democrats have said they’re aiming to sway potential Republicans on Barrett’s nomination by highlighting the stakes of this Supreme Court seat — something they did Monday by using the photos and stories of real people who could be affected by an ACA rollback. Republicans also returned to the same themes repeatedly throughout the hearing, highlighting Barrett’s professional qualifications for the role including her tenure as a clerk for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia (who died in 2016), and her work as a law professor at Notre Dame University, while frequently referencing her family as well.