Over and over, Amy Coney Barrett said she'd be her own judge if she's confirmed to the Supreme Court. But she was careful not to take on the president who nominated her and sought to create distance between herself and her past personal positions, writings on controversial subjects and even her late mentor.
Barrett's confirmation to the Supreme Court to take the seat of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg seems inevitable, as even some Senate Democrats acknowledged in two days of Senate hearings.
The 48-year-old judge skipped past Democrats' pressing questions about ensuring the date of next month's election or preventing voter intimidation, both set in federal law, and the peaceful transfer of presidential power. She also refused to express her view on whether the president can pardon himself.
Also, Barrett says she cannot express a view on climate change because it is a "very contentious matter of public policy." Barrett made the comment Wednesday during a line of questioning from Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris.
Harris asked Barrett a series of questions, including whether she thinks the coronavirus is infectious, whether smoking causes cancer and whether "climate change is happening and it's threatening the air we breathe and the water we drink." The Indiana judge responded that she does think coronavirus is infectious and smoking causes cancer, but she declined to answer on climate change.
