Supreme Court Nominee Amy Coney Barrett: ‘Judges Are Not Policymakers’

On September 26, President Trump announced Judge Amy Coney Barrett of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals as his nominee for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. In doing so, the President fulfilled one of his most sacred duties under our Constitution.

Judge Barrett is exceptionally qualified for the High Court. A graduate of Rhodes College and Notre Dame Law School, she clerked for the late Justice Antonin Scalia before pursuing a career as a litigator and professor. Following a bipartisan vote by the Senate in 2017, Barrett was confirmed as a Federal judge.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell issued a statement of support following the President’s announcement. “President Trump could not have made a better decision. Judge Amy Coney Barrett is an exceptionally impressive jurist and an exceedingly well-qualified nominee to the Supreme Court of the United States.”

Sen. Ted Cruz agreed, as did a number of other Senators and leaders. “Judge Barrett is well-qualified to serve on the United States Supreme Court. Having confirmed her to the circuit court in 2017 with bipartisan support, the Senate has already undertaken a thorough and rigorous review of her record,” he said.

A dedicated wife and mother of seven, Judge Barrett would also bring a new and important perspective to the Court. Here are just a few examples of how:

• Judge Barrett would be the first mother of school-aged children to become a Supreme Court justice. She would also become only the fifth woman ever to serve on the Court.
• As the mother of a child with special needs, she fully understands the issues and concerns that confront our nation’s most vulnerable.
• Judge Barrett would be the only current justice to have earned a law degree from a school other than Harvard or Yale—having graduated at the top of her class from Notre Dame Law School in Indiana.
• She would become one of only two sitting justices to have been born and raised in the South, having grown up in Louisiana before attending college in Tennessee.

“Amy is more than a stellar scholar and judge; she is also a profoundly devoted mother,” President Trump said. “Her family is a core part of who Amy is.”

Of Judge Barrett and her husband’s seven children, two were adopted from Haiti. Their youngest son, Benjamin, has Down syndrome—and boasts the title of “favorite sibling” from his brothers and sisters, according to Barrett.

After President Trump announced her nomination, Judge Barrett spoke about the importance of judges putting the Constitution above any personal views on the law.

“I clerked for Justice Scalia more than 20 years ago, but the lessons I learned still resonate,” she said. “His judicial philosophy is mine, too: A judge must apply the law as written. Judges are not policymakers, and they must be resolute in setting aside any policy views they might hold.”

Judge Barrett also had a message for the American people.

“I would assume this role to serve you,” she said. “I would discharge the judicial oath, 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.”

This story first appeared in 1600 Daily, the White House’s evening newsletter.