Amy Coney Barrett is to a potential a frontrunner for a Supreme Court vacancy under a Republican administration, with President Donald Trump reportedly cited her specifically to confidants as a leading contender for the seat held by Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg in the event of a vacancy.
Justice Ginsberg died September 18 at age 87 due to complications from cancer. Shortly after the news broke of her death, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced in a statement that whoever Trump nominates to replace her will receive a vote on the Senate floor.
ABC News’ John Santucci and Katharine Faulders reported that Trump is expected to announce his replacement for Ginsburg “in the coming days” and that Coney Barrett is a “leading contender,” with Axios’ Jonathan Swan reporting that Coney Barrett “remains the overwhelming favourite in Trump’s inner circle.”
And at age 48, Coney Barrett would serve on the court for decades to come if nominated and confirmed. Here’s what you need to know about her:
Judge Laurence Silberman of the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, Associate Justice Antonin Scalia of the US Supreme Court
Appointed by President Trump and confirmed by the US Senate to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in 2017.
Barrett had been under consideration by the president to fill the seat opened by the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy, which was later filled by Brett Kavanaugh.
In July 2019, Jonathan Swan and Sam Baker at Axios reported that President Trump had told several people “I’m saving her for Ginsburg,” of Coney Barrett, implying that in the event of a vacancy, she would be an immediate contender.
For the Kennedy seat, some analysts believed Barrett’s staked-out positions on abortion would make it difficult for a number of key Republican senators, specifically Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, to support her.
A devout Catholic, Barrett has been on the bench for a short time, but she’s written extensively on the subject of abortion in her career, which would likely become a lightning-rod issue in her confirmation proceedings if she were nominated to the high court.
In a 1998 law review article, she and a co-author argued Catholic judges should be allowed to recuse themselves from cases involving abortion or the death penalty.
Barrett has also said she believes it highly unlikely for the landmark case Roe v. Wade to be overturned, but doesn’t see it as a “super-precedent” case, like Marbury v. Madison, that no court would overturn.
She advocated in a 2003 article for a more “flexible” application of stare decisis, or the principle of respecting precedent in court cases. Those writings combined with her personal belief that life begins at conception have some critics concerned about what her presence on the court could mean for future abortion rights cases.
