Who is Amy Coney Barrett: Trump’s pick to succeed Ruth Bader Ginsburg?
As the world paid tribute to Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died on Friday aged 87, a woman called Amy Coney Barrett made her way from her home in South Bend, Indiana, for an appointment at the White House. Barrett, 48, met with Donald Trump on Monday and is hotly tipped to succeed Ginsburg.
That Trump is appointing a replacement to Ginsburg at all is controversial. When the judge knew she was dying, she said: “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.” But Trump knows how influential the job is and sees this as an opportunity to shore up his power — the Supreme Court decides the law on pivotal issues including abortion and gun control. Yesterday, Mitt Romney ensured a vote will go ahead by tipping the balance of Republicans in favour of it to 51. Joe Biden, who nominated Ginsburg, has not waded in, though his party are against a successor being confirmed in an election year. Ginsburg’s death means there is a six to three conservative majority in the court.
Trump has had his sights set on Barrett since 2018, when another associate justice position came up. Brett Kavanaugh was appointed instead (that’s another saga) because Trump said he was “saving [Barrett] for Ginsburg”. So who is she and would her appointment divide America even further?
“Barrett meets Trump’s two main litmus tests,” says Nan Aron of liberal group Alliance for Justice. She is a woman, which Trump thinks is good for optics. More importantly, she is the darling of America’s religious Right; a Catholic who is opposed to abortion and gay marriage. But while choosing a woman aligned with his beliefs makes Trump feel secure, it could backfire. Some fear Barrett’s appointment may put swing voters off Republicans, especially those concerned about abortion.
Barrett is a member of religious group People of Praise, which believes in speaking in tongues and healing, and she made headlines in 2017 when she was appointed to the Court of Appeals. Democratic senator Dianne Feinstein told Barrett: “The dogma lives loudly within you.” Catholics printed this on T-shirts as an act of defiance. Colleagues praise her dispassionate nature and say there is no evidence her religious beliefs affect her job.
Barrett grew up in a suburb of New Orleans. Her father was an attorney for Shell and her mother a housewife. She won a scholarship to Notre Dame Law School in Indiana and graduated top of her class, joining the law faculty in 2002. Her husband Jesse is a former federal prosecutor who now practises privately. They have seven children, including a son with Down’s and two children they adopted from Haiti after the 2010 earthquake, and she is a keen volunteer at their school.
Trump is expected to make a decision at the end of the week but will it hold? The US is poised.
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Trump says he will announce Supreme Court pick 'Friday or Saturday'
