Barrett answers barrage of questions

WASHINGTON—Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee pressed the Supreme Court nominee on abortion, healthcare, gun control, and other issues during Tuesday’s confirmation hearing. “I don’t have any agenda,” Judge Amy Coney Barrett said, answering a question about her opinion on abortion cases. “I have an agenda to stick to the rule of law and decide cases as they come.” She said she would rely on the original meaning and text of the U.S. Constitution and other laws, telling Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., “If there are policy differences, those are for this body.”

What did Republicans ask Barrett? Not much. Some GOP senators, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, used much of their time to criticize Democrats’ attacks on Barrett. “We should dispense with the total fiction the Democrats are peddling,” Grassley said, referring to accusations that she would target the Affordable Care Act. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas used only 11 of his allotted 30 minutes for questioning.

Dig deeper: Read Harvest Prude’s report on the Democrat strategy for attacking Barrett.