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Republicans are hoping that US President Donald Trump will announce on Saturday (Sunday New Zealand time) that he will nominate Justice Amy Coney Barrett to the United States Supreme Court, as his goal is to put a seal on historic in the high court just weeks before the election.
Conservative groups and congressional allies are laying the groundwork for a swift confirmation process for Barrett, even before Trump makes the selection official at a ceremony at the Rose Garden.
Rachel Malehorn / smugmug.com / AP
Donald Trump is believed to be nominating Justice Amy Coney Barrett for the United States Supreme Court.
They, like the president, are wasting little time moving to replace the late Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg, organizing multi-million dollar ad campaigns and rallying supporters both to confirm the election and to propel Trump to a second term.
For days, White House officials have indicated to Congressional Republicans and outside allies that Barrett is Trump’s pick, but Trump’s advisers have not offered an official word as they try to maintain some suspense before the official announcement.
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The likely change in the composition of the court, from Ginsburg, a liberal icon, to an outspoken conservative, would be the sharpest ideological turn since Clarence Thomas replaced Judge Thurgood Marshall nearly three decades ago.
For Trump, it will provide much-needed political aid as he tries to get his base up and running. For conservatives, it will mark a long-sought payoff for their sometimes awkward embrace from Trump. And for Democrats, it will be another reckoning moment, with their party locked in a bitter battle to retake the White House and the Senate.
Marcio José Sánchez / AP
United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a diminutive but imposing advocate for women’s rights who became the second judge of the United States court.
Senate Republicans are preparing for confirmation hearings in two weeks, and a full house vote is now expected before Election Day. Democrats are essentially powerless to block votes.
“I’m sure he will make an outstanding nomination,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told Fox News. “The American people are going to take a look at this nominee and conclude, as we are likely to conclude, that she well deserves to be confirmed before the Supreme Court of the United States.”
“They are hell-bent on doing this as quickly as possible,” said Senate Democratic whip Dick Durbin. “They think it helps Donald Trump get reelected.”
Outside conservative groups, which have been preparing for this moment for 40 years, plan to spend more than $ 25 million to support Trump and his nominee. Judicial Crisis Network has organized a coalition that includes American First Policies, the Susan B. Anthony List, the Club for Growth, and the Catholic Vote group.
“One of the things we’ve learned from the confirmation process stories, the intensity of the fight has more to do with the previous occupant of the seat than the nominee,” said Carrie Severino of JCN. “We hope this is a confirmation of the high stake.”
Within hours of Ginsburg’s death, Trump made clear his intention to nominate a woman in his place, having previously put two men on the field and while fighting to mitigate the erosion of support among the women of the suburbs.
The White House already concluded a round of investigation this month, as Trump released 20 additional names that he would consider for the court. He has also challenged Democrat Joe Biden to list possible nominees.
Trump had said he was considering five women for the Ginsburg job, including Barbara Lagoa from Florida and Joan Larsen from Michigan. Barrett, of Indiana, was in the White House at least twice this week, including a Monday meeting with Trump. He is not known to have met with any of the other contenders.
The 2017 appeals court confirmation of the staunch conservative in a party line vote included allegations that Democrats were attacking her Catholic faith. Trump’s allies see that as a political windfall for them if Democrats tried to do it one more time. Catholic voters in Pennsylvania, in particular, are seen as a pivotal demographic in the changing state that Democratic candidate Joe Biden, also a Catholic, is trying to win back.
Vice President Mike Pence defended Barrett when asked if his affiliation with the People of Praise, a charismatic Christian community, would complicate his ability to serve on the high court.
“I must tell you that the intolerance expressed during your last confirmation about your Catholic faith, I really think it was a disservice to the process and a disappointment to millions of Americans,” he told ABC News.
Although the court may rule on ideological lines in high-profile cases, Chief Justice John Roberts and his colleagues resist the idea that they are robed politicians and emphasize that they agree more than disagree.
Still, Barrett’s appointment would make the court more conservative. It would transform from a court divided 5-4 between conservatives and liberals to one in which six members are conservatives appointed by Republican presidents. Barrett has been hailed as a justice in the mold of Antonin Scalia, for whom he worked as a secretary.
Robert Franklin / South Bend Tribune / AP
Amy Coney Barrett, one of the favorites to fill the Supreme Court seat left vacant after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, has established herself as a trusted conservative on hot legal issues, from abortion to gun control.
Trump played the power of making judicial nominations with conservative voters in 2016, when Republican senators kept the seat vacant open because of Scalia’s death instead of allowing former US President Barack Obama to fill the vacancy.
Trump’s decision to publish lists of accomplished conservative jurists for possible elevation was rewarded by increased enthusiasm among white evangelical voters, many of whom had resisted supporting the former New York Democrat’s candidacy.
The Trump campaign is preparing to use the latest confirmation fight to achieve maximum political effect.
“This is great jet fuel at our base,” said Bill Schuette, a former Michigan attorney general and now a Trump campaign surrogate.
“This will ignite our foundation to support the responsibility of the Senate and the President to make the nomination, and the Senate will confirm it.”
David Eggert contributed to this report.
