With the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a vacancy opened in the U.S. Supreme Court, compelling both sides of the aisle to propose methods concerning filling the empty seat. As of Tuesday October 27, the majority Republican Senate has filled this vacancy and confirmed Amy Coney Barret as the next Supreme Court Justice, voting 52-48 and creating a court with 6 conservatives and 3 liberals. The confirmation of the conservative Barrett now repels any potential nominee that could have been proposed by Joe Biden, if he were elected. Because of this, Democrats take into consideration court-packing, adding to the amount of Supreme justices.

Despite ongoing disagreements then, the bipartisan Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing for Barrett the week of October 11. The body of senators- Democrats and Republicans- posed written questions for Barrett to answer concerning her future obligations and their stances on controversial cases awaiting the Supreme Court, namely the Affordable Care Act. 

The Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, was first put into law in March 2010 and aims to mitigate the costs of health insurance for low-income families and individuals through a set of restrictions and standards for insurance corporations. Although this law remains in effect today and is supported by Democrats, some Republicans question its constitutionality and also claim other plans would benefit both pharmaceutical companies and their clients to a higher extent. For this reason, the Affordable Care Act will be presented to the Supreme Court and Barrett later this fall. This  made the appointment of a new justice a contentious and important matter for both sides of the aisle. 

Trump has openly expressed his views on Obamacare, tweeting the following several days after he selected Barrett as his nominee: “Obamacare will be replaced with a MUCH better, and FAR cheaper, alternative if it is terminated in the Supreme Court. Would be a big WIN for the USA!” This tweet has led some Democrats to question whether Barrett will be unbiased- as is required- when judging the Affordable Care Act. However, when she was questioned on the act in the hearing, Barrett stated, “I am not here on a mission to destroy the Affordable Care Act…I certainly hope that all members of the committee have more confidence in my integrity than to think I would allow myself to be used as a pawn to decide this election for the American people.”

Aside from Obamacare, many rulings and laws concerning abortion, medicare, and the election will be presented to the Supreme Court this fall. The confirmation of Barret fathoms a ratio of one liberal for every three conservatives in the Supreme Court, making it a challenge for liberals to get their proposals and judgments through for the Court for quite some time.