Pete Buttigieg warns Amy Coney Barrett might put his marriage at risk

‘So many issues are on the line’

Pete Buttigieg has claimed that his marriage could be under threat if President Donald’s Trump’s pick to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court, Amy Coney Barrett, is confirmed next week.

Mr Buttigieg, 38, who married his husband Chasten Buttigieg in 2018, suggested during an interview on Fox News Sunday that 2015’s Supreme Court ruling that made same-sex marriage legal could be under threat if Ms Barrett is confirmed as a justice on the Supreme Court.

The position of a justice on the Supreme Court is a lifetime role, and if Ms Barrett is confirmed, then the court will likely have a conservative super-majority for decades.

Mr Buttigieg, who ran against Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination for president, told host Chris Wallace: “Right now as we speak the pre-existing condition coverage of millions of Americans might depend on what is about to happen in the Senate with regard to this justice.”

He added: “My marriage might depend on what is about to happen in the Senate with regard to this justice. So many issues are on the line.”

During her confirmation hearing last week, Ms Barrett, 48, refused to give her opinion on a myriad legal issues that the Supreme Court votes on, including abortion, birth control and same-sex marriage.

Ms Barrett said that she did not want to comment on the landmark rulings, as she “can't grade precedent.”

The 48-year-old, who is a devout Catholic, was also criticised for using the term “sexual preference,” while referring to people in the LGBT+ community last week.

In 2015, the right to same-sex marriage was ruled on by the Supreme Court in Obergefell v Hodges, which was passed by a landmark 5-4 ruling.

On Sunday, Mr Buttigieg, a former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, was also asked about his previous comments, where he suggested expanding the number of Supreme Court justices from nine to 15 people.

This is known as court-packing, and when asked about the practice last week, Mr Biden said that he is “not a fan”.

“My views haven’t changed,” Mr Buttigieg said. “Bipartisan reform with the purpose of reducing the politicisation of the Supreme Court is a really promising idea.

“Let’s also be clear that a president can’t just snap their fingers and do it.”

If the Senate Judiciary Committee votes to approve Ms Barrett on Thursday, then her Supreme Court nomination will be sent to the Senate floor for a vote on 26 October.