Trump looms large in Barrett hearing as Harris, Dems sound alarms over ObamaCare, election, coronavirus

‘What I think we will continue to see is solid Republican support for a superbly qualified nominee,’ says Ken Starr, Fox News contributor.The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Monday was intended to be about Judge Amy Coney Barret's nomination to the Supreme Court, but much of the focus – especially from Democrats – was not on the nominee but on the person who nominated her: President Trump. Harris added: "This administration, with the support of Senate Republicans, will be in front of the Supreme Court on November 10th to argue that the entire Affordable Care Act should be struck down.""This whole thing, just like Trump, is an irresponsible botch," Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., said during the hearing. "I think that has dramatic and potentially very harmful consequences with regards to the election, the Affordable Care Act and long-settled rights."Sen. Maize Hirono, D-Hawaii, emphasized Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic and mentioned that the White House "has become a COVID-19 hot spot" and that the event at which Trump announced Barrett's nomination has been called a "super-spreader."SCHUMER SAYS DEMOCRATS WON'T GIVE GOP QUORUM TO ADVANCE BARRETT NOMINATION"Why does President Trump matter?" asked Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn. "He is putting the Supreme Court in place, in his words, to quote, look at the ballots."Klobuchar slammed Republicans for advancing the nomination so close to a presidential election before saying, "This isn't Donald Trump's country. He made it clear that he wants his Supreme Court and this nominee to join him in eliminating the Affordable Care Act. This is his litmus test."LIVE UPDATES: JUDGE AMY CONEY BARRETT FACES SENATE CONFIRMATION HEARINGRepublicans during the hearing pushed back on Democrats' attempts to pin Barrett down on how she would rule in California v. You're a judge."Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, said of Democratic arguments against Barrett include that, "she's going to be an activist ... Republicans are following the Constitution and the precedent, it seems Democrats would rather just ignore both."Democrats have disputed that Republicans are following precedent, saying that they are busting precedent they set in 2016 when they refused to confirm Judge Merrick Garland to the seat opened by late Justice Antonin Scalia for many months before that year's presidential election. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., said the GOP move to confirm Barrett is a "hypocritical, tire-squealing 180."But Republicans note that in most cases where the Senate is controlled by the same party as the president, election-year Supreme Court nominees are confirmed, whereas they are generally not confirmed when the Senate is controlled by a party different from the president.