The Election And A Fresh Obamacare Challenge Loom Over New Supreme Court Term

The U.S. Supreme Court opens a new court term Monday, while across the street at the Capitol, Republicans are seeking to jam through, before the Nov. 3 election, President Trump's nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the court.

Trump offered Barrett the nomination just two days after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died. And since then, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has been leading the GOP charge to get Barrett confirmed before Election Day.

It's a race to the political finish line made more difficult by the fact that at least two members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Utah Republican Mike Lee and North Carolina Republican Thom Tillis, have tested positive for the coronavirus and, on Saturday, McConnell said the committee will start the hearing as scheduled on Oct. 12.

Regardless of what is happening in the Senate, the Supreme Court is carrying on in its usual stately fashion. The court is an institution built on tradition, and the traditional opening day of the term is the first Monday of October.