Presidential candidate Joe Biden and other Democrats on Saturday blasted U.S. President Donald Trump's nomination of Amy Coney Barrett for the Supreme Court, focusing in particular on the threat they said she would pose to healthcare for millions of Americans. 

In a statement released following Trump's nomination of Barrett, Biden said that even as Trump's administration is seeking to strike down Obamacare in a case the Supreme Court is due to hear on November 10, Barrett has a "written track record" criticizing a pivotal 2012 ruling authored by Chief Justice John Roberts preserving the law formally known as the Affordable Care Act. 

"President Trump has been trying to throw out the Affordable Care Act for four years. Republicans have been trying to end it for a decade. Twice, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the law as constitutional," Biden said in the statement. "But even now, in the midst of a global health pandemic, the Trump Administration is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the entire law, including its protections for people with pre-existing conditions.

Trump announced on Saturday that he is nominating Barrett, a conservative federal appellate judge, for the Supreme Court to succeed the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

"She is a woman of unparalleled achievement, towering intellect, sterling credentials, and unyielding loyalty to the Constitution," Trump said of Barrett from the White House Rose Garden.

"This should be a straightforward and prompt confirmation," he said, while calling for a "respectful and dignified" process for the Supreme Court nominee.

If confirmed by the Senate, Barrett will fill the vacancy left by the death of Ginsburg and give the conservative wing a solid 6-3 majority on the Supreme Court.

With the Republicans holding a 53-47 advantage in the Senate and only two senators of the party voicing opposition in moving forward the process, Trump appears to have a clear path to have his third Supreme Court pick confirmed. 

The Senate Judiciary Committee is planning to start hearings on Barrett's nomination on October 12, according to reports from multiple U.S. media outlets citing sources familiar with the schedule.

Given Republicans' 53-47 majority in the chamber, Democrats have no way of blocking a quick confirmation of a Trump nominee, even though two Republican senators have voiced objections.

The judiciary committee has 22 members, 12 Republicans and 10 Democrats, including Senator Kamala Harris, running mate to Biden.

Biden called on the Senate not to act on the court's vacancy until after the November 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. 

Barrett, 48, was appointed by Trump to the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2017 and is known for her conservative religious views. Supreme Court justices are given lifetime appointments.

She lives in South Bend, Indiana, with her husband, Jesse, a former federal prosecutor who is now with a private firm. The couple have seven children, including two adopted from Haiti. She is the oldest of seven children herself. 

Known for her sharp intellect, she studied at the University of Notre Dame's Law School, graduating first in her class, and was a clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia, who, in her words, was the "staunchest conservative" on the Supreme Court at the time.