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WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump plans to appoint conservative federal appeals court judge Amy Coney Barrett on Saturday to fill the vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court created by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, two said. sources on Friday (September 25).
His decision, which comes a week after the death of the liberal icon at 87, sets the stage for what promises to be a bitter confirmation fight in the United States Senate, which is controlled by Trump’s fellow Republicans. . Trump has asked Senate Republicans to confirm his nominee ahead of the November 3 US election, as he seeks a second term in office and Democrats aim to take control of the chamber.
Barrett, 48, was appointed by Trump to the Chicago-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in 2017 and is known for her conservative religious views. Magistrates of the Supreme Court are appointed for life.
If confirmed by the Senate, she would become the fifth woman to hold a supreme court position while expanding her conservative majority to a solid 6-3.
Trump plans a formal presentation at the White House on Saturday. Two sources confirmed Friday that Trump plans to nominate Barrett, but warned that Trump could change his mind. Trump himself told reporters on Friday that he had made his decision, but declined to say who his choice was.
Barrett has been viewed as a favorite throughout, along with federal appeals court judge Barbara Lagoa. Barrett previously served as a clerk to Conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in 2016.
Trump said he did not meet with Lagoa during a campaign trip to Florida.
As an appeals judge, Barrett has defended conservative legal positions on key issues in three years on the bench, showing his support for expansive gun rights and a hardline Trump immigration policy, while bolstering the rights of accused college students. Of sexual assaults on campus.
Abortion rights groups have raised concerns that in the Supreme Court, Barrett could help overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade decision that legalized abortion across the country.
A CLEAR PATH
Trump’s nominee has what appears to be a clear path to Senate confirmation, with Republicans holding a 53-47 majority in the House and only two senators from his party opposing moving forward with the process.
Democrats have opposed the Senate acting on Trump’s nominee in light of the Republicans’ decision in the House in 2016 to refuse to consider Democratic President Barack Obama’s nominee to replace Scalia after his death during a presidential election year.
A Reuters / Ipsos poll found that the majority of Americans believe that the winner of the November election should be able to nominate Ginsburg’s successor.
Ginsburg, an advocate for gender equality and various liberal causes, made history again on Friday as the first woman and the first Jewish person to stand on the United States Capitol. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden attended the ceremony a day after a nearby crowd greeted Trump with boos and boos as he visited the Ginsburg flag-draped casket outside the Supreme Court building.
Trump said this week that he believed the Supreme Court would be asked to rule on the outcome of the election, something that has happened only once in US history, in 2000.
“I think it’s very important that we have nine judges,” Trump said Wednesday.
Trump has said repeatedly and without proof that voting by mail, a long-standing feature of American politics, could lead to an increase in voter fraud.
ABORTION, WEAPONS AND THE RIGHT TO VOTE
Barrett would be his third appointment to the Supreme Court. Like Trump’s other two conservative appointments, Neil Gorsuch in 2017 and Brett Kavanaugh in 2018, Barrett could potentially serve for decades, putting a conservative stamp on Supreme Court precedent.
Court decisions wield great influence on American life, and a solidly conservative court could limit abortion rights, expand religious freedom, repeal gun control laws, and maintain new restrictions on voting rights.
On November 10, the court is scheduled to hear arguments in a major case in which Trump and his fellow Republicans seek to overturn the Affordable Care Act of 2010, known as Obamacare. If confirmed by then, the nominee could cast a casting vote.
The nomination could help Trump cement a key part of his presidential legacy, causing the federal judiciary to move conservatively, while also energizing his main supporters ahead of the election.
The Senate under the Constitution of the United States has the power to confirm or reject judicial candidates for a president. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has placed a high priority on obtaining confirmation of Trump’s conservative judicial elections.
