U.S. Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett to be questioned on record, issues | CBC News

President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett said on Tuesday at her U.S.

Barrett declined to say if she would step aside from any election-related cases that reach the court.

The Republican president has said he expects the Supreme Court to decide the election's outcome as he faces Democratic challenger Joe Biden.

"It would be a gross violation of judicial independence for me to make any such commitment or for me to be asked about that case," Barrett told the committee of possible election cases.

Barrett declined to say whether she would consider stepping aside, as Democrats have requested, from an Obamacare case due to be argued at the court a week after Election Day, in which Trump and Republican-led states are seeking to invalidate Obamacare, the law formally called the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Barrett noted that the new case centres upon a different legal issue than two previous Supreme Court rulings that upheld Obamacare, which she had criticized.

Barrett, 48, would tilt the Supreme Court further to the right and give conservative justices a 6-3 majority, making even the unexpected victories on which liberals have prevailed in recent years, including abortion and gay rights, rarer still.

Wade, Barrett said she would, as in other cases, consider the various factors usually applied when justices weigh whether to overturn a precedent.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the panel's top Democrat, asked Barrett whether she believed Roe v.

Questioned by Feinstein, Barrett declined to say whether she agreed with Scalia that the 2015 Supreme Court ruling called Obergefell v.

Barrett declined to answer when Feinstein asked her whether the U.S.

We want judges to approach cases thoughtfully and with an open mind," Barrett said.