President Donald Trump announced Saturday afternoon from the White House that he has chosen conservative appellate Judge Amy Coney Barrett as his third appointment to the US Supreme Court.
“I love the United States and I love the United States Constitution,” Barrett said following the president’s announcement of her nomination. She added that she was “deeply honored” in the confidence that Trump had shown in her.
“Judge Amy Coney Barrett is an exceptionally impressive jurist and an exceedingly well-qualified nominee to the Supreme Court of the United States,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell added, in a statement issued following the nomination.
The nominee, chosen to succeed Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died earlier this week of pancreatic cancer at age 87, is described by her friends as “fair” and a “powerhouse.” Democrats during prior nomination proceedings, however, have taken aim at her Catholic faith, claiming her religious beliefs prevail over her rulings.
Barrett, 48, currently serves on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, to which she was appointed by Trump in 2017. Born and raised in New Orleans, she was the oldest of seven children and now has seven children of her own with her husband Jesse, including two who were adopted in Haiti, and her youngest, with Down’s Syndrome.
The nomination sets off a new tug of war as Democrats attempt to overrule the Republican-led Senate as the GOP moves to complete the confirmation in time to place Barrett on the bench before Election Day.