Schumer demands Amy Coney Barrett recuse herself from ACA, election cases if confirmed

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Sunday called on Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett to commit to recusing herself from cases involving the Affordable Care Act and the 2020 election if confirmed.

Why it matters: Barrett wrote in 2017 that Chief Justice John Roberts betrayed the tenets of conservative legal analysis when he upheld the Affordable Care Act. The law will be back before the court in November. Democrats have made it central to their messaging that Barrett will try to invalidate the law if she is confirmed to the court.

What he's saying: Schumer said Barrett has "serious conflicts of interest" that should precipitate her recusal from ACA and election-related cases.

• Barrett's record and previous statements "raise serious questions as to whether she can rule fairly at all," Schumer said.
• He also pointed to Trump's comment indicating he wanted Barrett confirmed quickly in case she needed to decide the result of the election.

Background: This challenge to the ACA argues that the law’s individual mandate became unconstitutional when Congress nullified it in 2017 — and that the rest of the ACA must fall along with it.

What to watch: Hearings for Barrett's nomination kick off in the Senate on Monday, and Republicans are hoping to confirm her before Election Day.

• Barrett will say that "policy decisions and value judgments of government must be made by the political branches elected by and accountable to the People," in her opening statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee, according to prepared remarks obtained by Axios.
• "Nothing in her opening statement allays the concerns America has that she will overturn ACA and hurt people's health care and she will act to undo Roe v. Wade," Schumer said.
• The Supreme Court will hear the ACA case on Nov. 10.