'Not for my own sake': Amy Coney Barrett pledges to serve on Supreme Court that 'belongs to all of us'

“It is important at a moment like this to acknowledge family and friends, but this evening I also want to acknowledge you, my fellow Americans,” she said. “The president has nominated me to serve on the United States Supreme Court, and that institution belongs to all of us. If confirmed, I would not assume that role for the sake of those in my own circle, and certainly not for my own sake. I would assume this role to serve you.”

The announcement took place in the Rose Garden of the White House, confirming reports over the past 24 hours that the president had made up his mind to choose Barrett among the handful of female judges he was considering, including federal appeals court Judge Barbara Lagoa. The inclusion of Barrett would institute a solid 6-3 Republican-appointed majority on the Supreme Court for years to come. Barrett was joined by her husband and seven children at the announcement, traveling from her home in South Bend, Indiana, on Saturday to accept the elevation to the highest court in the land.

The Supreme Court nominee also took a moment to praise her would-be predecessor.

“Should I be confirmed, I will be mindful of who came before me. The flag of the United States is still flying at half-staff in memory of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, to mark the end of a great American life,” Barrett said. “Justice Ginsburg began her career at a time when women were not welcome in the legal profession, but she not only broke glass ceilings, she smashed them. For that, she has won the admiration of women across the country, and indeed, all over the world. She was a woman of enormous talent and consequence, and her life of public service serves as an example to us all.”

Barrett, 48, is a law school graduate from the University of Notre Dame and a former clerk for conservative icon Justice Antonin Scalia.

“Particularly poignant to me was her long and deep friendship with Justice Antonin Scalia, my own mentor,” Barrett said of Ginsburg. “Justices Scalia and Ginsburg disagreed fiercely in print without rancor in person. Their ability to maintain a warm and rich friendship, despite their differences, even inspired an opera. These two great Americans demonstrated that arguments, even about matters of great consequence, need not destroy affection. In both my personal and professional relationships, I strive to meet that standard.”

Barrett is currently a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, where she has served since making it through a contentious confirmation process in 2017, during which multiple Democratic senators were critical of her Catholic faith. Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Dianne Feinstein’s quote, “The dogma lives loudly within you,” became a rallying cry for conservatives and helped solidify Barrett’s position as the top choice of many Republicans for the highest court.

GOP leaders in the Senate aim to get Barrett confirmed before the November election, while Democrats (including presidential nominee Joe Biden) have demanded the process to be put on hold until there is a presidential winner.

“I fully understand that this is a momentous decision for a president, and if the Senate does the honor of confirming me, I pledge to discharge the responsibilities of this job to the very best of my ability,” Barrett said. “I love the United States, and I love the United States Constitution. I am truly humbled by the prospect of serving on the Supreme Court.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has vowed to move forward with Trump’s pick, and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham is ready to set up a hearing and suggested there are enough GOP votes to pass the nominee. Two Republicans, Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, said they oppose the idea of a vote before the election, but it remains to be seen how they would vote if the nomination is brought to the Senate floor.

McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, has made the confirmation of federal judges a top Senate priority. And Barrett, if confirmed, would be Trump’s third addition to the Supreme Court, following Neil Gorsuch in 2017 and Brett Kavanaugh in 2018. A Republican Senate staffer told the Washington Examiner that when Trump selected Kavanaugh, he said of Barrett, “I’m saving her for Ruth’s seat.”

(Rachel Malehorn, rachelmalehorn.smugmug.com, via AP)

Three years ago, Barrett was confirmed to the appellate court by a 55-43 vote in the Senate following a confirmation process in which her Catholic faith was brought to the forefront by Democrats.

“I think whatever a religion is, it has its own dogma,” Feinstein told Barrett as she testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2017. “The law is totally different, and I think in your case, professor, when you read your speeches, the conclusion one draws is that the dogma lives loudly within you, and that’s of concern.”

Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, referencing a law review article on Catholic judges that she had co-written with a professor as a law student in 1998, asked her bluntly, “Do you consider yourself an orthodox Catholic?”

“I am a Catholic, Sen. Durbin,” Barrett responded, adding, “If you’re asking whether I take my faith seriously and I’m a faithful Catholic, I am — although I would stress that my personal church affiliation or religious belief would not bear on the discharge of my duties as a judge.”

The judge, born and raised in Louisiana, is married to former assistant U.S. Attorney Jesse Barrett, and the couple have seven children: Emma, Vivian, Tess, John Peter, Liam, Juliet, and Benjamin.

“The president has asked me to become the ninth justice, and as it happens, I’m used to being in a group of nine — my family,” Barrett said on Saturday. “Our family includes me, my husband Jesse, Emma, Vivian, Tess, John Peter, Liam, Juliet, and Benjamin. Vivian and John Peter, as the president said, were born in Haiti, and they came to us five years apart when they were very young. And the most revealing fact about Benjamin, our youngest, is that his brothers and sisters unreservedly identify him as their favorite sibling.”

“I couldn’t manage this very full life without the unwavering support of my husband, Jesse,” Barrett said. “At the start of our marriage, I imagined that we would run our household as partners. As it has turned out, Jesse does far more than his share of the work. … For 21 years, Jesse has asked me every single morning what he can do for me that day, and though I almost always say ‘nothing,’ he still finds ways to take things off my plate. And that’s not because he has a lot of free time — he has a busy law practice — it’s because he is a superb and generous husband, and I am very fortunate.”

Barrett graduated magna cum laude from Rhodes College in 1994 and summa cum laude from Notre Dame Law School in 1997, where she was the executive editor of the law review. Barrett clerked for two appointees selected under President Ronald Reagan — Judge Laurence Silberman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit from 1997 to 1998 and Scalia from 1998 to 1999. She worked at a couple of law firms in the nation’s capital and then taught at George Washington University for a year before returning to Notre Dame in 2002, where she taught constitutional law for more for a decade and a half, and where she still teaches part-time.

Barrett has written dozens of opinions and dissents on key issues, including gun rights, abortion, immigration, due process, employment discrimination, and sexual harassment.

“I would discharge the judicial role which requires me to administer justice without respect to persons, do equal right to the poor and rich, and faithfully and impartially discharge my duties under the United States Constitution,” Barrett said Saturday. “I have no illusions that the road ahead of me will be easy, either for the short-term or the long haul. I never imagined that I would find myself in this position, but now that I am, I assure you that I will meet the challenge with both humility and courage. Members of the United States Senate, I look forward to working with you during the confirmation process, and I will do my very best to demonstrate that I am worthy of your support.”

Barrett’s faith has reemerged as a target for some and is likely to be among the landmines she must navigate in seeking Senate approval.

Barrett pushed back against this controversy during a talk at Hillsdale College in 2019, arguing, “We have a long tradition of religious tolerance in this country, and in fact, the religious test clause in the Constitution makes it unconstitutional to impose a religious test on anyone who holds public office. So, whether someone is, you know, Catholic or Jewish or Evangelical or Muslim or has no faith at all, it’s irrelevant to the job, and in fact, it’s unconstitutional to consider it as a qualification for office.”