Coons: ‘Defies comprehension’ why Trump continues push to ‘strip away’ protections for pre-existing conditions

Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) on Sunday said he’d meet with President Trump’s pick for the Supreme Court, and signaled he’d press Amy Coney Barrett over the issue of healthcare.

Democrats are trying to tie Coney Barrett to the future of the Affordable Care Act, arguing if Trump’s pick is added to the court it could be curtains for the healthcare law.

“It defies comprehension why President Trump would continue in his efforts to strip away from the American people pre-existing discrimination protection,” Coons said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “There’s more than 100 million Americans who have a pre-existing condition, 7 million more because they’ve been infected in this pandemic.”

.@ChrisCoons says he plans to talk with #SCOTUS nominee #AmyConeyBarrett. What will he ask about?

“I’ll press her on her previous statements about the Affordable Care Act,” he tells @margbrennan. pic.twitter.com/rfHS540h2C

— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) September 27, 2020

The Supreme Court is scheduled to consider a challenge to the healthcare law just a week after Election Day.

Coons said he will press the nominee on her previous statements about the Affordable Care Act during the confirmation process. 

The House approved a measure to repeal ObamaCare when it was in GOP control in Trump’s first year in office, but it did not pass the Senate. The Trump administration is now backing a legal challenge to the law brought by the state of Texas.