28 Sep 2020

POTUS picks his SCOTUS nominee skewing court conservative

From First Up, 5:06 am on 28 September 2020

President Donald Trump has announced conservative judge Amy Coney Barrett as his pick for the Supreme Court to replace liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg who died earlier this month. Republicans are now scrambling to confirm her before the election, stoking fears among opponents over what this could mean for issues like healthcare and abortion rights. The Democrats are crying foul at Mr Trump's attempt to push his nominee through the Republican-controlled Senate so close to the election, despite their refusal to do the same for Barack Obama in 2016 because it was an election year. If confirmed, Judge Barrett would become the fifth woman ever to serve on the top US judicial body and push its conservative majority to a commanding 6-3. Indira Stewart discussed this highly-charged issue is our correspondent Nick Harper.