WASHINGTON: A US judge in Washington late on Sunday (Sep 27) temporarily blocked a Trump administration order that was set to bar Apple and Google from offering Chinese-owned short video-sharing app TikTok for download at 11.59pm on Sunday local time.
US District Judge Carl Nichols, a nominee of President Donald Trump, who joined the court last year, said in a brief order he was issuing a preliminary injunction to prevent the TikTok app store ban from taking effect.
Nichols declined "at this time" to block other Commerce Department restrictions set to take effect on Nov 12 that TikTok has warned would have the impact of making the app unusable in the United States.
Nichols' detailed written opinion is expected to be released as soon as Monday.
John E Hall, a lawyer for TikTok, had argued during a 90-minute Sunday morning hearing that the ban was "unprecedented" and "irrational".
"How does it make sense to impose this app store ban tonight when there are negotiations under way that might make it unnecessary?" Hall asked during the hearing.
"This is just punitive. This is just a blunt way to whack the company ... There is simply no urgency here."
US officials have expressed national security concerns that personal data collected on 100 million Americans who use the app could be obtained by China's Communist Party government.
ByteDance said on Sep 20 it made a preliminary deal for Walmart and Oracle to take stakes in a new company, TikTok Global, that would oversee US operations. Negotiations continue over the terms of the agreement and to resolve concerns from Washington and Beijing.
The deal is still to be reviewed by the US government's Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).
The Justice Department said a preliminary injunction allowing Americans to continue downloading the TikTok app would be "interfering with a formal national security judgment of the president; altering the landscape with respect to ongoing CFIUS negotiations; and continuing to allow sensitive and valuable user information to flow to ByteDance with respect to all new users".
On Sep 19, the Commerce Department delayed the ban to give the companies an additional week to finalise a deal.
TikTok argues the restrictions, amid rising US-China tensions under the Trump administration, "were not motivated by a genuine national security concern, but rather by political considerations relating to the upcoming general election".
Another US judge, in Pennsylvania, on Saturday rejected a bid by three TikTok content creators to block the ban, while a judge in California has blocked a similar order from taking effect on Tencent Holdings' WeChat app.
LONDON: Last week, a well-known London council sent its staff an arresting bit of news: it is okay to smoke at work.
To be more precise, Hammersmith and Fulham council said it was okay for employees to smoke if they were working at home, as many have been thanks to COVID-19.
To be even more precise, the council sent the message because it wanted to hose down news reports that it had banned employees from having a fag at their keyboards — even if they were at home.
“We would never instruct people about smoking in their own homes,” it huffed.
WHAT EMPLOYEESS CAN AND CANNOT DO NOW MORE COMPLICATED
Does this matter?
In a normal year, not much. In the new world of remote working though, the question of what an employer can and cannot require of its staff has suddenly become much more complicated.Today’s employment laws were drawn up at a time when the typical worker slogged in to the same building each day and headed back home at night.
That time may never return.
A laptop and other work from home items are seen on a table. (File photo: Unsplash/Christopher Gower)
A poll of more than 750 European employers published last week showed 41 per cent have plans to make it easier for staff to keep working remotely once offices reopen.
They may not give a fig if their staff are lighting up at home, but they do care about much else, such as how much work is being done.
That is already raising potential legal headaches, as I discovered after calling UK employment lawyers last week.
I was expecting to hear about the tracking software, reportedly flourishing in the pandemic, that can count every keystroke on a company laptop, or take random screenshots of a monitor. But it turns out some of the worst problems are less high-tech, and more human.
At one company, staff at home were told to keep a video conference call open all day so a manager could watch what they were doing and issue any orders that popped into his head, as he always did in the office.
“I think that level of intrusion on an employee’s working from home day is quite excessive,” says Sinead Casey, a Linklaters employment lawyer.
Businesses commonly had some sort of monitoring in place before the pandemic, she told me, and they need to think carefully about whether they really need more for staff at home.
That makes sense, though not if you work on a trading floor or in a newsroom, where minute-by-minute decisions are needed.
WHAT ARE EMPLOYERS RESPONSIBLE FOR?
Another big legal question hovers over the extent to which a business is obliged to supply an ergonomically safe desk, a decent computer, fast broadband and even heating, cooling and lighting. Could they face legal claims for leaving home workers adrift?
(Photo: Unsplash/Alexandru Acea)
Potentially yes, says Peter Daly of Slater and Gordon.
An employment contract might not specifically mention electricity bills or broadband, but case law implies an obligation to provide a suitable working environment for employees, which could extend to paying for these costs.
He says he is hearing from “an awful lot of people” who have been told to work from home but on their own computer — a tough ask for those with one old laptop the whole family shares, or no home computer at all.
Yet those stories underline an even more significant fact of working life today: COVID-19 has swung the balance of power in favour of employers in dozens of industries.
EMPLOYEES MAY BE TAKING MORE RISKS
The precarious employment situation hardly encourages workers to take on a company, no matter how egregious.
And those who decide to fight face a long wait for a day in court. In the UK, social distancing rules have compounded a backlog of unheard employment complaints that by August had risen to 39,000.
If you lodge a claim today, it might not be heard until 2022, by which time your employer could have gone bust.
This does not apply to all sectors, let alone all businesses in all countries. But as virus infection rates climb and the threat of stricter lockdown rules looms, it remains a bleak reality.
When it’s all added up, whether you are working at home or not, I’m afraid there is ample reason to at least think about taking up smoking.
KOTA KINABALU: The Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) coalition led by the Malaysian Prime Minister successfully toppled the Warisan Plus state government helmed by chief minister Shafie Apdal, after winning the state election on Saturday (Sep 26).
Of the 73 seats contested, GRS coalition parties won 38, giving the alliance the simple majority it needs to form a new state government. Warisan Plus took 32 seats and independent candidates won the remaining three seats.
As of Sunday afternoon (Sep 27), GRS component parties, including Barisan Nasional (BN), Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), have not announced the identity of Sabah’s next chief minister, the person who will lead the new state government.
Despite the delay, analysts CNA spoke to said the results have already sent ripples through the federal level.
Here is how the GRS victory in Saturday's election could affect Malaysia's political scene in the short term:
MUHYIDDIN CEMENTS PM POSITION
Mr Muhyiddin spent many days campaigning in Sabah on behalf of GRS. He urged Sabah residents to vote for GRS by unveiling a manifesto that promised more jobs, funds to develop infrastructure and more support for the poor.
In the middle of the campaign, Mr Muhyiddin also announced the “Kita Prihatin” package, which would provide financial help worth RM10 billion (US$2.4 billion) in the form of cash aid, assistance for small businesses and a wage subsidy scheme to help Malaysians get through the pandemic.
Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin poses with Sabah residents in Luyang. (Photo: Prime Minister's Office)
Associate Professor Ahmad Martadha Mohamed, who heads the Governance and Integrity Cluster at Universti Utara Malaysia’s College of Law, Government and International Studies, said the results indicated that Sabahans endorsed Mr Muhyiddin's leadership and what he offered to the people.
“Even though GRS did not win comfortably, it’s a clear, simple majority. This is a strong signal that Sabahans have supported the coalition under his leadership and will continue to endorse his credibility as prime minister,” he said.
Dr Romzi Ationg, a political researcher at Universiti Malaysia Sabah, said that the victories garnered by GRS component parties showed that the locals, many of whom are struggling to make a living in a coronavirus-ravaged economy, supported the financial aid and programmes Mr Muhyiddin promised.
“The common people in Sabah, many of whom are poor, are impressed with his performance leading this country amid the COVID-19 pandemic. He has implemented good economic programmes and the Movement Control Order has reduced the number of COVID-19 cases in the country,” said Dr Romzi.
Dr Oh Ei Sun, Senior Fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, pointed out that Mr Muhyiddin’s message - that the Sabah state government should be administered in line with the federal government - resonated with voters in Sabah.
“Now that GRS has won, it makes it easier for Sabah to administer development. The voters from Sabah were fully aware of this and they wanted development in the state. Message was received loud and clear,” said Dr Oh.
Analysts also pointed out that the results were a boost to Mr Muhyiddin’s position as prime minister amid political uncertainty at the federal level, after opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim announced on Wednesday that he had garnered a "strong, formidable, convincing majority" of Members of Parliament to overthrow the current government.
Mr Muhyiddin cast doubts on Mr Anwar’s claim, by pointing out that the PKR president did not the MPs who were supposedly backing him.
Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim speaks during a press conference at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Sep 23, 2020. (Photo: AFP/Mohd Rasfan)
Dr Oh said that GRS’ victory has poured cold water on Mr Anwar’s plan to wrest control of the federal government.
“I think irrespective of the results in Sabah, Anwar’s attempt to take over the federal government was never looking positive,” said Dr Oh.
“But with these results, with his party only winning two seats, it further cements the idea that Anwar was crying wolf, and that it’s all empty talk,” he added.
Assoc Prof Ahmad Martadha said that even before Saturday's poll results were announced, big coalitions in the federal government, such as Gabungan Parti Sarawak, had already denied that their lawmakers were backing Mr Anwar.
He noted that only BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had said that many BN MPs had stated their support for Mr Anwar.
“They might now back down from supporting Anwar after seeing how Muhyiddin led GRS to a victory in Sabah,” said Assoc Prof Ahmad Martadha.
MUHYIDDIN NOW HAS MORE LEVERAGE AGAINST BN
Analysts also projected that the results have given Mr Muhyiddin and his Perikitan Nasional coalition more leverage against their allies in the federal government, Barisan Nasional.
Assoc Prof Ahmad Martadha said that the Sabah results showed that Mr Muhyiddin’s Perikatan Nasional coalition won 17 seats while Barisan managed just 14.
Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) president Muhyiddin Yassin (third from right) praying together with Sabah Bersatu chief Hajiji Noor (third from left, in red), and Sabah United Malays National Organisation leader Abdul Rahman Dahlan (second from right) during nomination day of Sabah's state elections on Sep 12, 2020. (Photo: Facebook/Muhyiddin Yassin)
He predicted that this will give Mr Muhyiddin's coalition an edge in appointing Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) Sabah chief Hajiji Mohd Noor as the next chief minister over the coming days.
“When PM first nominated Hajiji to be the next chief minister during the campaign, there was some scepticism, especially from BN who wanted to nominate Bung Moktar (Radin) instead. “But with PN winning more seats, and with Parti Bersatu Sabah likely to stand behind them, I think Hajiji will now definitely be chief minister,” said Assoc Prof Ahmad Martadha.
GENERAL ELECTION COULD HAPPEN SOON
Dr Oh opined that strong support for Mr Muhyiddin’s Perikatan Nasional in Sabah would “strengthen his hand” in the next general election.
“Now that PN is performing quite well, he can stand up to UMNO in negotiating for seats and he can be quite confident that he will win the GE,” said Dr Oh.
During the course of campaigning in Sabah, Mr Muhyiddin also hinted that an early 15th General Election may be held if GRS wins the Sabah polls.
Sabah residents voting in the state elections on Sep 26, 2020. (Photo: Amir Yusof)
Both Dr Oh and Assoc Prof Ahmad Martadha agreed that this will likely happen in the short term, now that Mr Muhyiddin has been boosted by a win in Sabah.
The latter predicted that polls will likely be called in January 2021.
“Parliament will sit in November when Muhyiddin will table the federal budget and MPs will debate that. December is a very difficult time to hold elections because the east coast of peninsular Malaysia will be suffering from the effects of the northeast monsoon, and there will be floods and other issues,” said Assoc Prof Ahmad Martadha.
“The best time to call it will be January, when the COVID-19 situation in Malaysia might have stabilised,” he added.
KOTA KINABALU: The Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) coalition led by the Malaysian Prime Minister successfully toppled the Warisan Plus state government helmed by chief minister Shafie Apdal, after winning the state election on Saturday (Sep 26).
Of the 73 seats contested, GRS coalition parties won 38, giving the alliance the simple majority it needs to form a new state government. Warisan Plus took 32 seats and independent candidates won the remaining three seats.
As of Sunday afternoon (Sep 27), GRS component parties, including Barisan Nasional (BN), Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), have not announced the identity of Sabah’s next chief minister, the person who will lead the new state government.
Despite the delay, analysts CNA spoke to said the results have already sent ripples through the federal level.
Here is how the GRS victory in Saturday's election could affect Malaysia's political scene in the short term:
MUHYIDDIN CEMENTS PM POSITION
Mr Muhyiddin spent many days campaigning in Sabah on behalf of GRS. He urged Sabah residents to vote for GRS by unveiling a manifesto that promised more jobs, funds to develop infrastructure and more support for the poor.
In the middle of the campaign, Mr Muhyiddin also announced the “Kita Prihatin” package, which would provide financial help worth RM10 billion (US$2.4 billion) in the form of cash aid, assistance for small businesses and a wage subsidy scheme to help Malaysians get through the pandemic.
Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin poses with Sabah residents in Luyang. (Photo: Prime Minister's Office)
Associate Professor Ahmad Martadha Mohamed, who heads the Governance and Integrity Cluster at Universti Utara Malaysia’s College of Law, Government and International Studies, said the results indicated that Sabahans endorsed Mr Muhyiddin's leadership and what he offered to the people.
“Even though GRS did not win comfortably, it’s a clear, simple majority. This is a strong signal that Sabahans have supported the coalition under his leadership and will continue to endorse his credibility as prime minister,” he said.
Dr Romzi Ationg, a political researcher at Universiti Malaysia Sabah, said that the victories garnered by GRS component parties showed that the locals, many of whom are struggling to make a living in a coronavirus-ravaged economy, supported the financial aid and programmes Mr Muhyiddin promised.
“The common people in Sabah, many of whom are poor, are impressed with his performance leading this country amid the COVID-19 pandemic. He has implemented good economic programmes and the Movement Control Order has reduced the number of COVID-19 cases in the country,” said Dr Romzi.
Dr Oh Ei Sun, Senior Fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, pointed out that Mr Muhyiddin’s message - that the Sabah state government should be administered in line with the federal government - resonated with voters in Sabah.
“Now that GRS has won, it makes it easier for Sabah to administer development. The voters from Sabah were fully aware of this and they wanted development in the state. Message was received loud and clear,” said Dr Oh.
Analysts also pointed out that the results were a boost to Mr Muhyiddin’s position as prime minister amid political uncertainty at the federal level, after opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim announced on Wednesday that he had garnered a "strong, formidable, convincing majority" of Members of Parliament to overthrow the current government.
Mr Muhyiddin cast doubts on Mr Anwar’s claim, by pointing out that the PKR president did not the MPs who were supposedly backing him.
Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim speaks during a press conference at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Sep 23, 2020. (Photo: AFP/Mohd Rasfan)
Dr Oh said that GRS’ victory has poured cold water on Mr Anwar’s plan to wrest control of the federal government.
“I think irrespective of the results in Sabah, Anwar’s attempt to take over the federal government was never looking positive,” said Dr Oh.
“But with these results, with his party only winning two seats, it further cements the idea that Anwar was crying wolf, and that it’s all empty talk,” he added.
Assoc Prof Ahmad Martadha said that even before Saturday's poll results were announced, big coalitions in the federal government, such as Gabungan Parti Sarawak, had already denied that their lawmakers were backing Mr Anwar.
He noted that only BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had said that many BN MPs had stated their support for Mr Anwar.
“They might now back down from supporting Anwar after seeing how Muhyiddin led GRS to a victory in Sabah,” said Assoc Prof Ahmad Martadha.
MUHYIDDIN NOW HAS MORE LEVERAGE AGAINST BN
Analysts also projected that the results have given Mr Muhyiddin and his Perikitan Nasional coalition more leverage against their allies in the federal government, Barisan Nasional.
Assoc Prof Ahmad Martadha said that the Sabah results showed that Mr Muhyiddin’s Perikatan Nasional coalition won 17 seats while Barisan managed just 14.
Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) president Muhyiddin Yassin (third from right) praying together with Sabah Bersatu chief Hajiji Noor (third from left, in red), and Sabah United Malays National Organisation leader Abdul Rahman Dahlan (second from right) during nomination day of Sabah's state elections on Sep 12, 2020. (Photo: Facebook/Muhyiddin Yassin)
He predicted that this will give Mr Muhyiddin's coalition an edge in appointing Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) Sabah chief Hajiji Mohd Noor as the next chief minister over the coming days.
“When PM first nominated Hajiji to be the next chief minister during the campaign, there was some scepticism, especially from BN who wanted to nominate Bung Moktar (Radin) instead. “But with PN winning more seats, and with Parti Bersatu Sabah likely to stand behind them, I think Hajiji will now definitely be chief minister,” said Assoc Prof Ahmad Martadha.
GENERAL ELECTION COULD HAPPEN SOON
Dr Oh opined that strong support for Mr Muhyiddin’s Perikatan Nasional in Sabah would “strengthen his hand” in the next general election.
“Now that PN is performing quite well, he can stand up to UMNO in negotiating for seats and he can be quite confident that he will win the GE,” said Dr Oh.
During the course of campaigning in Sabah, Mr Muhyiddin also hinted that an early 15th General Election may be held if GRS wins the Sabah polls.
Sabah residents voting in the state elections on Sep 26, 2020. (Photo: Amir Yusof)
Both Dr Oh and Assoc Prof Ahmad Martadha agreed that this will likely happen in the short term, now that Mr Muhyiddin has been boosted by a win in Sabah.
The latter predicted that polls will likely be called in January 2021.
“Parliament will sit in November when Muhyiddin will table the federal budget and MPs will debate that. December is a very difficult time to hold elections because the east coast of peninsular Malaysia will be suffering from the effects of the northeast monsoon, and there will be floods and other issues,” said Assoc Prof Ahmad Martadha.
“The best time to call it will be January, when the COVID-19 situation in Malaysia might have stabilised,” he added.
KOTA KINABALU – A victory for Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) led by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and his allies in the Sabah state election on Saturday (Sept 26) has not immediately resolved the months of political turmoil, as the parties failed to decide on a Chief Minister candidate and asked the Sabah governor Juhar Mahiruddin to make a decision in the coming days.
GRS initially aimed to get a new chief minister sworn in by 11am on Sunday, but missed the deadline as meetings between GRS parties continued in the morning.
Unable to resolve the impasse, GRS' main leaders, including the two chief minister candidates, Umno's Sabah Chief Bung Moktar Radin and Sabah Perikatan Nasional (PN) chief Hajiji Noor, met Tan Sri Juhar.
Tan Sri Juhar, according to Datuk Seri Bung, had asked for time to make a decision, meaning a swearing-in ceremony will not take place on Sunday. Chief Ministers are typically sworn in on the day right after the election.
The parties met until the early hours on Sunday but were unable to announce a chief minister candidate at the time.
Frictions between GRS allies had been evident throughout the campaign. GRS parties contested against each other in 17 state seats, while both PN, which is led by Tan Sri Muhyiddin, and Barisan Nasional (BN), the biggest component of his federal government, proposed different chief minister candidates.
Mr Muhyiddin has proposed that Datuk Seri Hajiji be made the chief minister, while BN chief Ahmad Zahid Hamidi insisted early on Sunday that the candidate has to come from BN component Umno, as Umno was the single party with the most seats among GRS allies.
PN won 17 seats compared to BN’s 14, but all 14 of BN seats were won by Umno.
In contrast, Mr Muhyiddin’s own party Bersatu, which Datuk Seri Hajiji is from, won 11 seats.
The friction between GRS allies was apparent even after Saturday night’s win. Both PN and BN celebrated at different command centres, and made victory announcements separately.
The uncertainty over GRS’ negotiations seems to give some glimmer of hope for incumbent Parti Warisan Sabah and caretaker Chief Minister Shafie Apdal, who did not concede defeat right away after official results were announced on Saturday night.
Datuk Seri Shafie pointed out instead that his party Warisan had won 23 state seats and remained the single party with the most seats among all parties that contested the state elections. His electoral allies won another nine seats, for a total of 32.
Technically, if any of major GRS components chose to work with Warisan and its allies, Mr Shafie’s party could still form the state government.
GRS ally Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) on Sunday issued a statement denying that it was in talks with Warisan to form a state government, condemning such “rumours”.
Sabah has been in political turmoil since late June after Warisan’s state government collapsed following mass defections of 13 assemblymen to PN, then led by former chief minister Musa Aman.
But Tan Sri Juhar consented to Mr Shafie’s proposal to dissolve the assembly and hold fresh elections, instead of allowing Tan Sri Musa to retain power via defections.
Sabah also underwent days of political turmoil after the 2018 elections, which saw Mr Shafie’s Warisan and BN led by Mr Musa secure 29 seats each, leading to a hung assembly.
Mr Musa struck a deal with Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (Star), which had two seats, and managed to form the state government.
But merely two days later, United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (Upko), then a BN ally, opted to join Warisan instead, and Mr Shafie was in turn sworn in as the new chief minister.
WASHINGTON: Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and others in his party on Saturday (Sep 26) blasted President Donald Trump's choice of conservative judge Amy Coney Barrett for the Supreme Court, focusing in particular on the threat they said she would pose to healthcare for millions of Americans.
Biden noted that even as Trump's administration is seeking to strike down Obamacare in a case the Supreme Court is due to hear on Nov 10, Barrett has a "written track record" criticising a pivotal 2012 ruling authored by Chief Justice John Roberts preserving the law formally known as the Affordable Care Act.
Biden, seeking to defeat the Republican president on Nov 3, called on the Senate not to act on the court's vacancy caused by the death of liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg until after the Nov 3 election, allowing the winner to make the appointment.
"The United States Constitution was designed to give the voters one chance to have their voice heard on who serves on the court. That moment is now and their voice should be heard," Biden said.
Senate Republicans refused to consider President Barack Obama's 2016 Supreme Court nominee, saying the winner of that year's election should make the pick.
Trump's choice means that he would replace Ginsburg, a champion of gender equality and other liberal causes who died on Sep 18 at age 87, with a jurist who in many ways is her judicial opposite.
If confirmed, Barrett would give the court a 6-3 conservative majority. The implications for contentious issues such as abortion, LGBT rights, gun-control measures and healthcare has prompted passionate reaction on both sides.
Democrats said Barrett would vote to dismantle healthcare during a coronavirus pandemic that already has killed more than 200,000 Americans.
"This nomination threatens the destruction of life-saving protections for 135 million Americans with pre-existing conditions together with every other benefit and protection of the Affordable Care Act," House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said.
Trump wants Barrett confirmed before the election. If so, she would be on the bench for the Obamacare oral arguments, with Republican-led states and Trump's administration trying to invalidate the law. A coalition of Democratic-led states is seeking to preserve the law in the litigation.
Republicans hold a 53-47 Senate majority and have committed to moving quickly on confirmation. They cheered Trump's choice.
"President Trump could not have made a better decision," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said.
Senator Lindsey Graham, chairman of the Judiciary Committee that will conduct confirmation hearings, added, "We move forward on this nomination knowing that the president has picked a highly qualified individual who will serve our nation well on the highest court in the land."
Trump critics also have expressed concern that a hasty confirmation process so close to an election risks further eroding the court's reputation as independent.
But Christian conservative and anti-abortion activists, who praised the choice, urged senators to move quickly and warned Democrats not to attack Barrett's religious faith.
"We have full confidence that the pro-life Senate majority will move swiftly to confirm her before the election," said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony List, an anti-abortion group that is launching a digital advertising campaign supporting Barrett.
Abortion rights groups said Barrett's addition to the court could jeopardise the landmark 1973 ruling that made abortion legal nationwide.
"The Supreme Court has a vital role in protecting and upholding civil rights and liberties - including reproductive rights - for everyone in the United States. We cannot barrel forward with a nomination that will impact people's lives for generations," said Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights.
WASHINGTON: Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and others in his party on Saturday (Sep 26) blasted President Donald Trump's choice of conservative judge Amy Coney Barrett for the Supreme Court, focusing in particular on the threat they said she would pose to healthcare for millions of Americans.
Biden noted that even as Trump's administration is seeking to strike down Obamacare in a case the Supreme Court is due to hear on Nov 10, Barrett has a "written track record" criticising a pivotal 2012 ruling authored by Chief Justice John Roberts preserving the law formally known as the Affordable Care Act.
Biden, seeking to defeat the Republican president on Nov 3, called on the Senate not to act on the court's vacancy caused by the death of liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg until after the Nov 3 election, allowing the winner to make the appointment.
"The United States Constitution was designed to give the voters one chance to have their voice heard on who serves on the court. That moment is now and their voice should be heard," Biden said.
Senate Republicans refused to consider President Barack Obama's 2016 Supreme Court nominee, saying the winner of that year's election should make the pick.
Trump's choice means that he would replace Ginsburg, a champion of gender equality and other liberal causes who died on Sep 18 at age 87, with a jurist who in many ways is her judicial opposite.
If confirmed, Barrett would give the court a 6-3 conservative majority. The implications for contentious issues such as abortion, LGBT rights, gun-control measures and healthcare has prompted passionate reaction on both sides.
Democrats said Barrett would vote to dismantle healthcare during a coronavirus pandemic that already has killed more than 200,000 Americans.
"This nomination threatens the destruction of life-saving protections for 135 million Americans with pre-existing conditions together with every other benefit and protection of the Affordable Care Act," House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said.
Trump wants Barrett confirmed before the election. If so, she would be on the bench for the Obamacare oral arguments, with Republican-led states and Trump's administration trying to invalidate the law. A coalition of Democratic-led states is seeking to preserve the law in the litigation.
Republicans hold a 53-47 Senate majority and have committed to moving quickly on confirmation. They cheered Trump's choice.
"President Trump could not have made a better decision," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said.
Senator Lindsey Graham, chairman of the Judiciary Committee that will conduct confirmation hearings, added, "We move forward on this nomination knowing that the president has picked a highly qualified individual who will serve our nation well on the highest court in the land."
Trump critics also have expressed concern that a hasty confirmation process so close to an election risks further eroding the court's reputation as independent.
But Christian conservative and anti-abortion activists, who praised the choice, urged senators to move quickly and warned Democrats not to attack Barrett's religious faith.
"We have full confidence that the pro-life Senate majority will move swiftly to confirm her before the election," said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony List, an anti-abortion group that is launching a digital advertising campaign supporting Barrett.
Abortion rights groups said Barrett's addition to the court could jeopardise the landmark 1973 ruling that made abortion legal nationwide.
"The Supreme Court has a vital role in protecting and upholding civil rights and liberties - including reproductive rights - for everyone in the United States. We cannot barrel forward with a nomination that will impact people's lives for generations," said Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights.
