Senate Democrats are heading into Monday’s confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett knowing they can’t do much to stop her nomination from moving forward.
So they’re pinning their hopes on using the hearing to persuade the public ― and just enough Republican senators ― that she is the wrong nominee at the wrong time.
It’s an admittedly weak hand. They’re just outnumbered. But if they can come up with ways to delay a vote until after the election on Nov. 3, when Joe Biden may win the presidential election, Republicans will face tremendous pressure to let him fill the seat in 2021.
Democrats see public pressure as key to their strategy for derailing the process. They plan to grill Barrett, who is currently a conservative U.S. appeals court judge, on her record of opposition to the Affordable Care Act, Roe v. Wade, gun restrictions, environmental regulations and worker rights.
They’ll also hammer the point that it is unprecedented to confirm a Supreme Court nominee weeks before a presidential election and that what’s driving the urgency is that President Donald Trump wants Barrett on the court before Nov. 3 in the event the election results are close, and the Supreme Court has to declare the winner. | 
