Sen. Lindsey Graham began his opening statement on the third day of confirmation hearings with lines of praise for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett.
The South Carolina Republican called Barrett’s path to the high court “history being made” and told her he’s never been more proud of a nominee than he was of her.
“This hearing, to me, is an opportunity to not punch through a glass ceiling but a reinforced concrete barrier around conservative women,” Graham said. “You’re going to shatter that barrier. I have never been more proud of the nominee than I am of you. You have been candid to this body about who you are and what you believe.”
Graham also praised Sens. Joni Ernst and Marsha Blackburn and talked of the challenges conservative women and minorities have to share when it comes to getting recognition.
“It is a very give-and-take society called America, but there is one group in America I think has had a hard time of it, and that is conservatives of color and women conservatives,” he said. “There is an effort by some in the liberal world to marginalize the contribution because you come out on a different side of an issue, particularly abortion.”
Blackburn also touched on that sentiment earlier this week, saying she feels like conservative women are not welcomed in most places as much as liberal women because they hold a different point of view.
“If you don’t buy into this agenda of the Left if you’re female, then they act as if you are not a real woman,” the Tennessee Republican said during her line of questioning on Tuesday.
Graham said that if Barrett were to have a place on the court, she could inspire other women who may share her views to pursue similar opportunities in the future.
“A seat at the table is waiting on you, and it will be a great signal to all young women who want to share your view of the world that there is a seat at the table for them,” he said. “This won’t be celebrated in most places. It will be hard to find much commentary about this moment in American history, but in many of our worlds, this will be celebrated. This has been a long time coming, and we have arrived.”
Barrett was nominated by President Trump to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died last month. Ginsburg was the second woman to sit on the Supreme Court after Sandra Day O’Connor and was recognized as a champion of women’s rights.
If nominated, Barrett will be the fifth woman in history to sit on the court, joining sitting Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor.
The judge will continue to face questioning by Republican and Democratic lawmakers this week regarding her judicial philosophy. If her nomination is approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, she will then need a simple majority vote by the full Senate.
