'I don't recall': Barrett grilled by Sen. Harris

"I don't recall seeing or hearing those statements," Barrett said.

She later said she had become aware of Trump's statements during her conversations with senators ahead of her confirmation hearings.

Harris, who spoke via video linkup, has painted Trump's Supreme Court pick as a threat to the Affordable Care Act during a deadly pandemic and denounced the Republican drive to approve her before the Nov. 3 U.S. election.

Barrett spent much of Tuesday's hearing asserting that she gave no commitments to the White House on how she would rule on Obamacare cases and declined to say if she believed landmark rulings legalizing abortion and gay marriage were properly decided.

Barrett opted not to say whether she would step aside from taking part in a major Obamacare case to be argued on Nov. 10 or in any disputes arising from the Nov. 3 election - as Democrats have requested - as she answered questions for the first time on the second day of her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing.

The marathon questioning gave the conservative U.S. appellate judge a chance to respond to Democrats who oppose her because they fear she will cast a decisive vote in striking down former President Barack Obama's signature 2010 healthcare law and its protections for people with pre-existing conditions.

"I am not here on a mission to destroy the Affordable Care Act," Barrett said. "I'm just here to apply the law and adhere to the rule of law."