Judge Amy Coney Barrett, pictured in 2018, of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Rachel Malehorn, rachelmalehorn.smugmug.com via AP
Trump expected to nominate Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court
By Carrie Johnson, Sam Gringlas/NPR
Rachel Malehorn, rachelmalehorn.smugmug.com via AP
Judge Amy Coney Barrett, pictured in 2018, of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
(Washington) – Republicans expect President Trump to name Judge Amy Coney Barrett as the next nominee to the Supreme Court, according to a source with knowledge of the process, but the source cautioned that Trump could change his mind.
The White House declined comment.
Trump told reporters on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews that he had made a decision on who he would nominate to replace the late-Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, but said “we have not made our intentions known.”
He added that he did not meet with Judge Barbara Lagoa during his trip to Miami and Atlanta.
Barrett, who has served on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago for three years, has a clear conservative record. If confirmed to the court, the 48-year-old would become the youngest justice on the Supreme Court and would likely serve for decades to come.
Barrett is widely admired among conservatives for her judicial record on abortion rights and the Affordable Care Act.
President Trump considered Barrett to succeed Justice Anthony Kennedy when he retired in 2018, but instead chose Brett Kavanaugh, reportedly saying he was “saving” Barrett for Ginsburg’s seat, should she die or retire during his presidency.
Trump nominated Barrett to the federal bench just three years ago, in 2017. As a federal judge, she has written about 100 opinions, accumulating a judicial record on issues like guns, abortion rights and campus sexual assault that has been lauded by conservatives.
Before her ascent to the federal bench, Barrett taught law for 15 years at the University of Notre Dame, where she gradated from law school. She also clerked for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, a conservative legend on the court, who like Barrett, subscribes to an “originalist” or “textualist” judicial philosophy in which constitutional questions are considered through the lens of the framers’ original intent.
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