Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Nevada Democrats: Barrett nomination all about the future of Affordable Care Act

Sen. Jacky Rosen: Editorial Board Meeting

Steve Marcus

Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., listens to a question during an editorial board meeting at the Las Vegas Sun offices in Henderson Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019.

Nevada’s two U.S. senators, both Democrats, are criticizing President Donald Trump’s nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, saying the move is an attempt to do away with the Affordable Care Act.

“President Trump and Senate Republicans have tried for years to repeal the Affordable Care Act through legislation and the courts, and very soon, the Supreme Court will consider a case that could overturn the ACA completely. This means that the next Justice will decide whether individuals with pre-existing conditions could be denied health care coverage,” Sen. Jacky Rosen said in a statement.

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto said that she was “certain” Barrett would be the deciding vote that dismantles the Affordable Care Act.

“This nomination is nothing less than an attempt by Senator Mitch McConnell and President Trump to ram through a lifetime appointment onto the Supreme Court before oral arguments on the Affordable Care Act are heard on Nov. 10,” Cortez Masto said in a statement.

Rosen’s statement also brought up the about-face from Senate Republicans on nominating a Supreme Court justice in a presidential election year, calling it a violation of precedent they set.

In 2016, President Barack Obama nominated Merrick Garland to the seat of Justice Antonin Scalia after his death. Republican senators, led by McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader, refused to bring Garland’s nomination forward for a hearing, and Scalia’s seat was filled after the election by Trump with Justice Neil Gorsuch.

“Unlike the 2016 election, millions of Americans across the country are already voting,” Rosen said in a statement. “My Republican colleagues should honor their own precedent on this process — the McConnell Rule — and ensure that the American people have their say at the ballot box before the Senate considers a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court that will determine the future of access to quality, affordable health care in the United States.”

Cortez Masto said Trump has “chosen to ignore the will of American voters.”

“Americans are already voting in this election and I continue to believe that the American people should have their say on a Supreme Court vacancy occurring so close to a presidential election,” Cortez Masto said.

Most Republican senators have brushed off questions of hypocrisy, as only Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine have indicated they would vote for a nominee before Election Day. Four Republicans would need to not vote along party lines in order for the nomination to fail.

Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said the longstanding precedent is that nominees are only confirmed during a presidential election year if the Senate majority and president were of the same party.

“In making this nomination today, president Trump is honoring his promise to the voters, and in confirmed Judge Barrett as Justice Barrett the Republicans in the Senate will likewise be honoring your promise to the voters,” Cruz said during a Saturday appearance in Las Vegas.