The Senate Judiciary Committee held four days of hearings last week to consider the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to become an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. He was questioned extensively regarding health care issues, particularly his positions on abortion rights and the Affordable Care Act. Since the Texas v. United States case challenging the constitutionality of the ACA (see above) could well wind up before the Supreme Court, his positions on issues raised in that case could determine the future of the law. As is the tradition among Supreme Court nominees, however, he refused to make any comments that would reveal how he might rule on specific issues.
The last day of the hearings was devoted to outside witnesses, among whom was Jackson Corbin, a 13-year-old with Noonan Syndrome, a disorder he shares with his brother and mother that affects multiple body systems. His moving written testimony was about the importance to his family of having insurance coverage despite their significant pre-existing conditions. Another witness was Liz Weintraub, of the Association of University Centers on Disability, who testified about the rights of people with disabilities like herself.
Confirmation of Judge Kavanaugh will take only a simple majority of Senators, so if all 51 Republicans vote “YES,” as currently expected, he will be confirmed. See Kavanaugh Hearings Didn’t Alter Nominee’s Supreme Court Trajectory (Washington Post, 9/9/18).
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