Trump Back on Campaign Trail as Barrett Hearings Begin and Biden Won't Reveal His 'Court-Packing' Plans
Just days after leaving the hospital, President Trump returns to the campaign trail today, after his doctor says he no longer poses a risk of infection to others.
"It looks like I'm immune for, I don't know, maybe a long time, maybe a short time. It could be a lifetime. Nobody really knows, but I'm immune," Trump said.
Trump will hold a Florida rally tonight to kick off the final stretch before Election Day.
This comes as Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett are also kicking off today.
The 22 senators on the Judiciary Committee are expected to appear both in-person and virtually during the four-days of hearings.
Two Republicans on the committee, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Mike Lee of Utah, recently tested positive for COVID-19.
Citing the virus, Democrat leaders called on Republican Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham to cancel the hearings. The Democrats' vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris tweeted that Senate Republicans are putting lives in danger and says she'll attend virtually.
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz calls it a stall tactic. "I think they're looking for anything to delay things even a day, two or three," Cruz told Fox News.
Regardless, Graham says Barrett will be confirmed before Election Day. "That's my hope. It'll be up to Senate McConnell what to do after the 22nd. But we can easily get her confirmed before the election," Graham said.
Without a majority, Democrats can't do much to stop it but will try.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said, "When the actual vote occurs in committee and on the floor, Democrats – we will not supply the quorum. Period."
On the campaign trail, Joe Biden is still refusing to answer questions about whether he would support "packing the court" with extra Supreme Court justices to make it more liberal if he wins.
Biden told a reporter, "They'll know my opinion on court-packing when the election is over." And when asked if voters deserve to know beforehand, Biden answered firmly, "No, they don't."
Democrats are not only concerned that Judge Amy Coney Barrett could help a more conservative court overturn Row v. Wade, but also Obamacare, the Affordable Care Act.
At her hearing today, Barrett is expected to tell Senators that her judicial philosophy has been shaped by her mentor, the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
Barrett will also tell senators she believes that policymaking should be left to the elected branches of government.
Her confirmation would solidify either a 6-3 or 5-4 conservative majority on the court, depending on who you ask because some observers don't consider Chief Justice John Roberts to be a conservative.
