Speaking from the Rose Garden at the White House, President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that he has selected 48-year-old Judge Amy Coney Barrett as his third pick for the Supreme Court. If confirmed by the Senate, she will fill the vacant seat left by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and become just the fifth woman to serve on the high court.
Judge Barrett is widely viewed as a pro-life originalist who will interpret the Constitution according to its original public meaning. She is a devout Catholic and a mother of seven children, including two that were adopted from Haiti and one with special needs.
When Judge Barrett and her husband Jesse adopted Vivian from Haiti, she was 14-months old and weighed just 11 pounds. Doctors said she may never walk normally or speak. Today, Vivian is a track star and Judge Barrett jokingly says, “I assure you; she has no trouble talking.”
Judge Barrett describes Vivian as their family’s “miracle.”
“Today it is my honor to nominate one of our nation’s most brilliant and gifted minds to the Supreme Court. She is a woman of unparalleled achievement, towering intellect, sterling credentials and unyielding loyalty to the Constitution, Judge Amy Coney Barrett,” President Trump said from the Rose Garden while announcing Judge Barrett.
“You are very eminently qualified for this job, you are going to be fantastic,” President Trump told Judge Barrett.
In accepting the president’s nod, Judge Barrett said, “I love the United States and I love the United States Constitution. I am truly humbled at the prospect of serving on the Supreme Court.”
Highlighting the late Justice Scalia and Justice Ginsberg’s authentic friendship, despite fierce disagreements on the court, Judge Barrett said, “Arguments, even about matters of great consequence, need not destroy affection.”
Judge Barrett currently serves on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to which she was appointed, also by President Trump, in 2017.
As The Daily Citizen previously wrote, Judge Barrett “taught constitutional law and other legal subjects at Notre Dame beginning in 2002. She’s also clerked for Judge Laurence Silberman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, as well as Justice Antonin Scalia of the U.S. Supreme Court.”
Judge Barrett shot up in President Trump’s shortlist of potential nominees to serve on the Supreme Court after Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., questioned her ability to serve on the 7th Circuit because of her faith during her 2017 confirmation hearing.
“I think whatever a religion is, it has its own dogma. The law is totally different. And I think in your case, professor, when you read your speeches, the conclusion one draws is that the dogma lives loudly within you,” Sen. Feinstein said.
Several media outlets, including Newsweek, Reuters and The New York Times began to once again question Judge Barrett’s faith in the week prior to her nomination to the Supreme Court.
In a statement regarding Judge Barrett’s nomination, Focus President Jim Daly said, “I was very encouraged to hear President Trump today announce his choice for the Supreme Court, Judge Amy Coney Barrett… From all reports, Judge Barrett is a constitutionalist judge in the mold of her former boss, Justice Antonin Scalia, for whom she clerked after graduating summa cum laude from Notre Dame Law School.”
“Judge Barrett has produced the kind of track record that confirms her fidelity to the Constitution and the proper role of a judge. Importantly, Judge Barrett has supported state efforts to regulate abortion. As a mother of seven children, two of them adopted and another one who has Down syndrome, she has also demonstrated the kind of respect for life and the family that tells me she has her priorities in order. We look forward to hearing more about Judge Barrett’s qualifications for this high office, and for a swift and fair process leading to her confirmation,” President Daly added.
Now that President Trump has made his decision, it is up to the U.S. Senate to decide whether to confirm Judge Barrett.
Several Republican senators have indicated that they will try to vote on her nomination before Election Day on November 3.
The Supreme Court will begin to hear cases for its 2020-2021 term beginning on October 5.
Photo from Reuters
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