Trump Invokes Past Bipartisan Support of Amy Coney Barrett: 'This Should Be a Straightforward and Prompt Confirmation'
President Donald Trump on Saturday called for a straightforward and prompt confirmation of federal Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.
Speaking at a White House ceremony during which he officially announced the nomination, Trump stressed the bipartisan nature of Barrett’s past support.
“When I nominated Judge Barrett to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in 2017, every law clerk from her time at the Supreme Court endorsed her and endorsed her nomination, writing, quote:
‘We are Democrats, Republicans, and independents … yet we write to support the nomination of Professor Barrett to be a Circuit Judge … Professor Barrett is a woman of remarkable intellect and character. She is eminently qualified for the job,'” Trump said.
“And I can tell you, I did that too. I looked and I studied, and you are very eminently qualified for this job. You are going to be fantastic,” he continued. “Really fantastic.”
“The entire Notre Dame Law facility and faculty, everybody — everybody at that school also — we got so many letters — also wrote letters of support of Amy’s nomination to the Seventh Circuit. They wrote, in effect:
‘Despite our differences, we unanimously agree that our constitutional system depends upon an independent judiciary staffed by talented people devoted to the fair and impartial administration of the rule of law. And we unanimously agree that Amy is such a person,'” Trump said.
Trump said Barrett will make the Constitution paramount in her rulings.
“Amy Coney Barrett will decide cases based on the text of the Constitution as written. As Amy has said, ‘Being a judge takes courage. You are not there to decide cases as you may prefer. You are there to do your duty and to follow the law wherever it may take you.’ That is exactly what Judge Barrett will do on the U.S. Supreme Court,” he said.
Trump then urged the Senate to do its job properly.
“I want to thank the members of the Senate. We have so many of them here today. Thank you very much. I see you in the audience, and you’re so proud. But I want to thank you for your commitment and to providing a fair and timely hearing. I know it will be that,” Trump said.
Trump noted the support Barrett received when she rose to the Seventh Circuit seat she now holds.
“Judge Barrett was confirmed to the Circuit Court three years ago by a bipartisan vote. Her qualifications are unsurpassed — unsurpassed — and her record is beyond reproach. This should be a straightforward and prompt confirmation. It should be very easy,” Trump said.
“It’s going to be very quick. I’m sure it’ll be extremely non-controversial. We said that the last time, didn’t we?” Trump said, referring to his 2018 nomination of Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
“I further urge all members of the other side of the aisle to provide Judge Barrett with the respectful and dignified hearing that she deserves and, frankly, that our country deserves. I urge lawmakers and members of the media to refrain from personal or partisan attacks,” Trump said.
Trump then noted that “[t]he stakes for our country are incredibly high. Rulings that the Supreme Court will issue in the coming years will decide the survival of our Second Amendment, our religious liberty, our public safety, and so much more. To maintain security, liberty, and prosperity, we must preserve our priceless heritage of a nation of laws, and there is no one better to do that than Amy Coney Barrett.”
“Law and order is the foundation of the American system of justice. No matter the issue, no matter the case before her, I am supremely confident that Judge Barrett will issue rulings based solely upon a fair reading of the law. She will defend the sacred principle of equal justice for citizens of every race, color, religion, and creed,” Trump said.
Barrett was confirmed 55-43 in 2017, according to Senate records. In addition to all of the Republican senators, she was supported by Democratic Sens Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Tim Kaine of Virginia and Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Donnelly has since left the Senate after losing his seat in 2018.
A White House fact sheet distributed to support Barrett’s nominated noted that in 2017, her Notre Dame Law School colleagues supported her to be a federal judge and called her “a model of the fair, impartial and sympathetic judge.”
Further, the fact sheet noted, “a bipartisan group of law professors – including professors from Harvard and Stanford and other law schools around the country – urged the Senate Judiciary Committee to confirm Judge Barrett to the Seventh Circuit, describing her work as ‘rigorous, fair-minded, respectful, and constructive.'”
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