WEBVTT 00:02.033 --> 00:04.233 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: Day one of the confirmation hearings for Judge Amy Coney Barrett is in 00:04.233 --> 00:09.233 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% the books, and the battle for this U.S. Supreme Court seat has been joined. 00:11.266 --> 00:14.300 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% President Trump and Republicans are pushing to put a conservative stamp on the High Court 00:14.300 --> 00:19.066 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% for years to come. Democrats are warning of what that could mean. 00:19.066 --> 00:21.066 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% John Yang begins our coverage. 00:21.066 --> 00:25.300 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): The hearing to confirm Judge Amy Barrett to the Supreme Court 00:27.466 --> 00:29.533 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% will now begin. 00:29.533 --> 00:33.500 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% JOHN YANG: In an appropriately distanced Senate hearing room, Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney 00:35.366 --> 00:39.200 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Barrett appeared before a divided Senate Judiciary Committee and a divided nation. 00:41.233 --> 00:44.533 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Wearing a mask, Barrett was backed by her husband and six of their seven children. In 00:46.500 --> 00:49.700 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% her first public remarks since being nominated, she told senators her judicial philosophy 00:51.633 --> 00:54.866 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% was inspired by her mentor, the late Justice Antonin Scalia, for whom she was a clerk. 00:57.433 --> 00:59.433 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% AMY CONEY BARRETT, Supreme Court Justice Nominee: It was the content of Justice Scalia's reasoning 00:59.433 --> 01:03.166 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% that shaped me. His judicial philosophy was straightforward: A judge must apply the law 01:05.700 --> 01:09.033 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% as it is written, not as she wishes it were. 01:09.033 --> 01:13.133 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% JOHN YANG: She said making policy belongs to lawmakers, not judges. 01:13.133 --> 01:18.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% AMY CONEY BARRETT: Courts are not designed to solve every problem or right every wrong 01:20.133 --> 01:23.366 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% in our public life. The policy decisions and value judgments of government must be made 01:25.833 --> 01:30.833 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% by the political branches, elected by and accountable to the people. The public should 01:33.000 --> 01:36.666 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% not expect courts to do so, and courts should not try. 01:36.666 --> 01:40.300 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% JOHN YANG: But policy was what Democrats focused on. 01:40.300 --> 01:44.933 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% They said her confirmation was being fast-tracked this election year so she would be on the 01:44.933 --> 01:49.900 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% bench for oral arguments November 10 in a case that 20 Republican-led states brought 01:51.066 --> 01:53.666 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% against the Affordable Care Act, or ACA. 01:53.666 --> 01:57.766 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% SEN. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE (D-RI): The big, secretive influences behind this unseemly rush see this 01:59.233 --> 02:04.033 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% nominee as a judicial torpedo they are firing at the ACA. 02:06.000 --> 02:08.666 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% JOHN YANG: Democrats spoke of constituents who they said would lose health insurance 02:08.666 --> 02:11.333 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% if the ACA was struck down. 02:11.333 --> 02:13.900 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii: 02:13.900 --> 02:17.833 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% SEN. MAZIE HIRONO (D-HI): The consequences of Judge Barrett's confirmation would be devastating 02:19.833 --> 02:22.633 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% for millions of Americans who would lose their health care during this pandemic. 02:22.633 --> 02:27.566 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% JOHN YANG: Some of Barrett's Republican defenders said her potential vote on the ACA case should 02:27.566 --> 02:29.633 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% not be prejudged. 02:29.633 --> 02:31.700 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% Senator John Cornyn of Texas: 02:31.700 --> 02:35.066 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R-TX): You stand accused of intending to violate your oath before you 02:35.066 --> 02:40.066 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% even take it. Further, our Democratic colleagues want you to guarantee a result in a case as 02:43.800 --> 02:48.833 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% a quid pro quo for your confirmation. It's outrageous. 02:48.833 --> 02:53.600 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% JOHN YANG: Democrats renewed their objections to filling the vacancy so close to Election 02:53.600 --> 02:54.600 align:left position:40% line:89% size:50% Day. 02:54.600 --> 02:56.733 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% Senator Chris Coons of Delaware: 02:56.733 --> 03:00.766 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): There is no precedent in our nation's history for confirming a Supreme 03:02.766 --> 03:06.800 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Court nominee by the Senate this close to a presidential election, in which a majority 03:08.100 --> 03:10.100 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% of states are already voting. 03:10.100 --> 03:14.866 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% JOHN YANG: Speaking from her office, committee member and vice presidential nominee Kamala 03:16.633 --> 03:19.566 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Harris said lawmakers should instead be aiding financially strapped Americans. 03:19.566 --> 03:21.700 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), Vice Presidential Candidate: Senate Republicans have made it 03:21.700 --> 03:26.266 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% crystal clear that rushing a Supreme Court nomination is more important than helping 03:28.733 --> 03:32.266 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% and supporting the American people who are suffering from a deadly pandemic and a devastating 03:33.400 --> 03:35.500 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% economic crisis. 03:35.500 --> 03:38.700 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% JOHN YANG: Republicans said they were simply fulfilling their constitutional duty. 03:38.700 --> 03:43.533 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% SEN. MIKE CRAPO (R-ID): The Senate is today exercising its duty to move forward with processing 03:43.533 --> 03:48.533 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% this nomination, just like the vast majority of Senates in the past have done every time 03:50.500 --> 03:52.500 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% this has happened. 03:52.500 --> 03:56.500 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% JOHN YANG: Barrett describes herself as a faithful Catholic, and in her 2017 confirmation 03:58.500 --> 04:01.666 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% for the appeals court, some Democrats raised her faith in the context of abortion rights. 04:01.666 --> 04:04.600 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Today, it was only Republicans who brought it up. 04:04.600 --> 04:08.066 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% SEN. JOSH HAWLEY (R-MO): When you tell somebody that they're too Catholic to be on the bench, 04:08.066 --> 04:11.166 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% when you tell somebody they're going to be a Catholic judge, not an American judge, that's 04:11.166 --> 04:16.166 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% bigotry. The pattern and practice of bigotry from members of this committee must stop. 04:18.133 --> 04:20.833 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% SEN. JONI ERNST (R-IA): It's really quite simple what your opponents are doing. They 04:20.833 --> 04:25.833 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% are attacking you, as a mom and a woman of faith, because they cannot attack your qualifications. 04:30.133 --> 04:35.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% JOHN YANG: Today's first of a scheduled four days of hearings lacked the usual charged 04:36.566 --> 04:39.433 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% atmosphere of a high-stakes Supreme Court nomination. 04:39.433 --> 04:44.433 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Because of COVID-19, the only spectators allowed were a small number of journalists and Senate 04:46.433 --> 04:49.833 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% staff. Some senators appeared remotely. But outside the Hart Senate Office Building, Barrett 04:51.933 --> 04:53.400 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% supporters gathered on sidewalks. 04:53.400 --> 04:56.433 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% WOMAN: And, as far as I'm concerned, the man is president. 04:56.433 --> 05:01.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% JOHN YANG: While a block away, on the steps of the Supreme Court building, supporters 05:01.133 --> 05:03.333 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% and opponents faced off. 05:03.333 --> 05:07.733 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Committee Chair Lindsey Graham predicted that, when all was said and done, the outcome would 05:07.733 --> 05:09.800 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% not be surprising. 05:09.800 --> 05:12.633 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM: This is probably not about persuading each other. Unless something 05:12.633 --> 05:17.633 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% really dramatic happens, all Republicans will vote yes and all Democrats will vote no. 05:19.533 --> 05:23.233 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% JOHN YANG: Tomorrow, Barrett is to begin two days of scheduled questioning. 05:23.233 --> 05:25.466 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm John Yang.