–She Says Court Belongs to Everyone and She’ll Serve ‘Poor and Rich’
–Aims to Follow Example of Conservative Antonin Scalia
By Denny Gulino
WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – Hoping to transform the Supreme Court into a reliably conservative institution for the foreseeable future, President Trump Saturday confirmed his choice of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s successor to be 48-year-old Federal Circuit Court of Appeals Court Judge Amy Coney Barrett.
President Trump, confirming his widely reported intended choice, said in his Rose Garden announcement that, “It is my honor to nominate one of our nation’s most brilliant and gifted legal minds.” He went on, “She is a woman of unparalleled achievement towering intellect, sterling credentials and unyielding loyalty to the Constitution.”
As her husband, seven children and babysitter looked on, among a crowd of administration officials and prominent legal personages, she spoke of her predecessor, her family and her future mission.
“I fully understand that this is a momentous decision for a president,” she said. “And if the Senate does me the honor of confirming me, I pledge to discharge the responsibilities of this job to the very best of my ability. I love the United States and I love the United States Constitution.”
Of RBG, she said, “Justice Ginsburg began her career at a time when women were not welcomed in the legal profession but she not only broke glass ceilings, she smashed them. For that,” she said, “she has won the admiration of women across the country and indeed all over the world.”
After acknowledging her children by name, crediting the “unwavering support” of her husband Jesse – and hearing President Trump acknowledge she would be the first mother of school-age children on the high court – she spoke of what lies ahead.
“I clerked for Justice Scalia more than 20 years ago, but the lessons I learned still resonate,” she said. “His judicial philosophy is mine too. A judge must apply the law as written. Judges are not policymakers and they must be resolute and setting aside any policy views they might hold.”
“She continued, ”I would discharge the judicial oath which requires me to administer justice … to the poor and rich and faithfully and impartially discharge my duties under the United States Constitution. I have no illusions that the road ahead of me will be easy either for the short term or the long haul.”
Upon her assumed confirmation, the president will have placed three of his preferred justices on the Supreme Court in his single term.
“She has a written track record of opposing … the Affordable Care Act,” candidate Joe Biden said later. He repeated the Senate should not act until after the election, ideally when the next Senate and president will be in charge, an apparently futile hope though shared by Ginsburg. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other top Democrats similarly criticized Barrett’s assumed stance on the health care law, emphasizing the Supreme Court will determine its fate in the midst of a pandemic.
Barrett, whose conservative bent is suggested by past writings and rulings, and even by a lifestyle adherence to pro-life norms and strict religious precepts, will face days of confirmation hearings in which Democratic opponents of President Trump will continue to try to illustrate her expected departures from the liberal legal philosophy of RBG.
Her presence would give the court a 6-3 conservative majority, ending decades of a more neutral to decidedly liberal constitution. With Chief Justice John Roberts something of a swing vote lately, the outcome of some cases have remained in doubt until the decision was announced.
But as Senator Mitt Romney said when he declared his intention to vote on the eventual nominee, the liberal cast of the high court is “not written in the stars.”
So future cases with ideological implications – like abortion, gender, immigration and health care issues among others – could become more predictable with Barrett’s vote. The high court, for instance, will review the Affordable Care Act – Obamacare – less than two weeks after the election.
Ginsburg served on the court for 27 years, having been appointed when she was 60.
Given Republican control of the Senate there seems no way that Democrats can derail the nomination and prevent her ascending to the high court before Election Day. President Trump has said that could be important to avoid a split decision should the Court be called upon to rule on any disputed election outcome.
Democratic senators are still deciding if they will entertain courtesy visits from the nominee and fully support the confirmation process, instead of boycotting it and allowing Republicans an easier path to their final vote.
Barrett’s 2017 confirmation vote that placed her on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, based in Chicago was mostly by party line, reinforcing her reputation as a conservative, given Democratic opposition. It was that reputation that made her the top choice of conservative groups from the moment RBG succumbed to pancreatic cancer.
Two of her seven children, ranging in age from eight to 19, were adopted from Haiti. She and her husband have been members of an ecumenical South Bend religious organization called People of Praise, with branches in 21 other cities, whose Web site says it is organized along the lines of early Christian communities intended to ensure mutual support. Some reports said the group also emphasizes a leading role for husbands in marriage, even to determining how wives vote, a biographical detail that will likely be examined during her confirmation hearing.
CNN reported the confirmation hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee will be conducted Oct. 12 through 15, with the last day a session closed to news coverage. That compressed schedule will allow her to be in her new job by Election Day.
She had taught at her law school alma mater Notre Dame since 2002 and was chosen by the graduating class for three years as “Distinguished Professor of the Year.” She graduated first in her class and was executive editor of the Notre Dame Law Review. She received her B.A. in English literature from Rhodes College. She had also been an associate professor at the George Washington University of Law and at the University of Virginia. More pertinent to her nomination may have been, again, that she clerked for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, one of the high court’s most conservative jurists – who happened to be a good friend of the liberal RBG.
—
Contact this reporter: denny@macenews.com.
Content may appear first or exclusively on the Mace News premium service. For real-time email delivery contact tony@macenews.com. Twitter headlines @macenewsmacro.