Donald Trump plans second event for Amy Coney Barrett, Supreme Court nominee, despite first being linked to coronavirus outbreak
- White House preparing to celebrate judge’s expected confirmation to US Supreme Court by Republican Senate
- Barrett’s nomination event at Rose Garden a month ago was followed by wave of Covid-19 cases, including Trump’s own infection
The White House planned a Monday night celebration of the Republican Senate’s expected confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to the US Supreme Court, a month after a similar event was linked to a Covid-19 outbreak that preceded President Donald Trump’s own infection.
While Democrats have fiercely opposed the conservative jurist’s nomination, Trump’s fellow Republicans hold a 53-47 Senate majority and her confirmation to a lifetime post on the court seems assured.
Trump pressed the Senate to confirm Barrett before the November 3 election, which would create a 6-3 conservative majority on the top US judicial body.
Barrett, a federal appeal court judge, is Trump’s third selection for the court, enabling him to remake it in a dramatic fashion as part of his success in moving the broader federal judiciary to the right since taking office in 2017.
The September 26 Rose Garden ceremony at which Trump officially named Barrett to replace the late liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg preceded a wave of Covid-19 cases among top Republicans including Trump and first lady Melania Trump. The president spent three nights hospitalised receiving Covid-19 treatment.