Senator Ben Sasse (R., Neb.) on Tuesday hit back at criticism of Judge Amy Coney Barrett, one of two potential nominees to the Supreme Court, connected to her Catholic faith.

Barrett is reportedly a member of People of Praise, an interdenominational Christian community organization. A Tuesday article from Reuters questioned whether the group was similar to a totalitarian cult from the novel The Handmaid’s Tale, while a story from Newsweek initially asserted that Margaret Atwood, the author of the novel, used People of Praise as inspiration for book’s fictional cult.

Newsweek subsequently added a correction stating that People of Praise was not in fact Atwood’s source of inspiration.

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“These ugly smears against Judge Barrett are a combination of anti-Catholic bigotry and QAnon-level stupidity,” Sasse commented in a statement. “People of Praise is basically a Bible study —and just like billions of Christians around the world, Judge Barrett reads the Bible, prays, and tries to serve her community. Senators should condemn this wacky McCarthyism.”

Barrett is reportedly the frontrunner of the two nominees under consideration for the Supreme Court. President Trump hosted Barrett at the White House on Tuesday for the second day in a row, CNN reported. Also under consideration is Judge Barbara Lagoa, with whom Trump is meeting on Friday.

Trump will announce his nominee at 5 p.m. this coming Saturday. Senate Republicans are planning to hold a confirmation vote on the nominee by the end of October, according to the Associated Press. Of the 53 Republican senators, only Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine have indicated they would not vote to confirm a justice before the November elections.

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