“A woman of remarkable intellect and character. She is eminently qualified for the job.”
That’s how US President Donald Trump described federal judge Amy Coney Barrett yesterday.
The president has nominated Barrett to be the US’s next Supreme Court Justice.
If confirmed by the Senate, she will take the place vacated by Senator Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Ginsburg passed away earlier this month after serving 27 years on the court.
Today, it was my great honor to nominate one of our nation’s most brilliant and gifted legal 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… pic.twitter.com/l2yezt2UOi
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 27, 2020
Trump told the press that Barrett’s confirmation would be “uncontroversial” and “very quick”.
“Her qualifications are unsurpassed, unsurpassed and her record is beyond reproach. It should be a straightforward and prompt confirmation. Good luck. It’s gonna be very quick.”
Here are 4 things to know about her.
She’s currently a circuit court judge and law professor
Barrett, aged 48 and originally from just outside New Orleans in Louisiana, studied at Notre Dame Law School. and has published academic work in a number of journals. She was nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit by Trump in 2017.
She’s a mum of seven
Barrett and her husband Jesse M Barrett are parents to seven children aged eight to 19, two of whom they adopted from Haiti. If confirmed, she would be the first woman with school-aged kids to serve on the Supreme Court.
She’s known as a staunch conservative
A devout Catholic, Barrett is anti-abortion and has been criticised for allowing her faith to affect her legal opinions. She has maintained that her beliefs do not impact on her work.
Her nomination has worried some critics in the US who say that her confirmation would open the door for the rolling back of current abortion and LGBTQ+ rights in the US.
She could secure a right-wing majority on the court for decades
Of the nine Supreme Court seats, five are held by justices with conservative leanings while three are held by liberal justices (Ginsburg was also liberal). If Barrett is confirmed, it will mean a 6-3 conservative majority on the court. As a seat on the court is held for life, the majority could be in place for many years to come.
