Supreme Court nominee Barrett faces Senate test

WASHINGTON AFP Oct12, 2020- The US Senate will start confirmation hearings on Monday for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, nominated to the Supreme Court by President Donald Trump despite opposition from the Democrats, who appear largely powerless to block the move before the November 3 election.   

The 48-year-old conservative law professor was named by the Republican president on September 26 to succeed women’s rights champion and liberal justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died of cancer eight days earlier at the age of 87.   

By law, the Republican-led Senate has to approve the nomination to the country’s highest court, where conservatives currently occupy five of the nine seats.   

The Democrats and their presidential candidate Joe Biden are demanding that a nomination to the lifetime post be left until after the election, but Trump wants to push ahead as quickly as possible to satisfy voters on the right.   
Barrett, a practicing Catholic, is well regarded by conservative Christians, who share many of her values, including an opposition 
to abortion and 
same-sex marriage.