US Supreme Court Nominee Mindful Of Controversy
By Stefan J. Bos, Special Correspondent Worthy News
(Worthy News) – U.S. Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett a devoted conservative Catholic, said Saturday she would be “mindful of who came before me.”
Speaking in the White House Rose Garden, Barrett made clear she realized that flags were still lowered in recognition of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the liberal icon who died last week of cancer after serving 27 years at America’s highest court.
Joined by her husband and seven children, including two adopted from Haiti and one with Down Syndrome, Barrett spoke about the values she wants to bring to the court.
”I love the United States, and I love the Constitution of the United States, ” she exclaimed in a speech often interrupted by applause.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who nominated her, called Barrett ”a woman of unparalleled achievement, towering intellect, sterling credentials, and unyielding loyalty to the Constitution.”
PROMPT CONFIRMATION?
Speaking before Barrett took the floor, Trump said that “This should be a straightforward and prompt confirmation,” in the U.S. Senate.“This should be straightforward and prompt confirmation.Should be very easy. Good luck,” he told Senators attending the nomination ceremony.
Trump joked: “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?“
He referred to the opposition among Democrats against her nomination.
In a reaction, Senator Kamala Harris, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, already condemned President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee.
She warned of a showdown when Judge Barrett appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee next month. “Just yesterday, I paid my respects to the legendary Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who devoted her life to fighting for Equal Justice Under Law and a more fair and just world,” Harris wrote Saturday. “Her passing is devastating, and it would be a travesty to replace her with a justice who is being selected to undo her legacy and erase everything she did for our country.”
FIGHT CONTINUES
She added, “With the next Supreme Court Justice set to determine the fate of protections for those with preexisting health conditions, and reproductive health options, I will continue to fight on behalf of the people and strongly oppose the president’s nomination.”
Democrats fear Barrett’s nomination could become a reckoning over abortion, an issue that has divided Americans bitterly for almost half a century.
The idea of overturning or gutting Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that legalized abortion, has animated activists in both parties for decades.
She has said the questions the high court would be willing to address would be states’ restrictions on abortions, including how abortion clinics operate.
Groups opposing abortion have welcomed Judge Barrett’s nomination. Commentators say her academic and judicial writings have been skeptical of broad interpretations of abortion rights.
CATHOLIC FAITH
Judge Barrett also said in recent years that her Catholic faith is essential to her. “If you’re asking whether I take my faith seriously and I’m a faithful Catholic — I am, “ she told a Confirmation hearing in 2017 before the Senate Judiciary Committee considering her nomination to be a 7th Circuit appeals judge.
However, Barrett added: “I would stress that my personal church affiliation or my religious belief would not bear in the discharge of my duties as a judge.”
Democrats claim Barrett, who has a conservative voting record in cases touching on abortion, gun rights, discrimination, and immigration, will help move the Supreme Court further to the right for decades to come.
But with Republicans controlling the Senate, the Democrats face an uphill battle to prevent Barrett from joining the top court.
Since taking office in 2017, Trump already appointed two Supreme Court justices – Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh – as well as nearly 200 other judges with lifetime appointments to lower federal courts.
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