Trump nominates Amy Coney Barrett for Supreme Court

President Trump this evening announced he’s nominating Amy Coney Barrett to the US Supreme Court.

Barrett, 48, was a finalist for the Supreme Court spot that went to Brett Kavanaugh in 2018. She was confirmed in 2017 for her current judgeship on the 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin.

Now, the Republican-led Senate will begin the confirmation process for Barrett — and some GOP senators signaled they will quickly move to take up the nomination.

Here’s what we know about next steps:

For the Supreme Court announcement today, the Rose Garden was transformed to look similar to June 14, 1993 — the day then-President Bill Clinton announced Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s nomination to the high court.

Trump this evening nominated Amy Coney Barrett to fill Ginsburg’s seat.

It is a very distinctive look, with large flags hanging down from the Colonnade, one after another, between the columns.

President Trump and his advisers specifically asked for the Rose Garden to be adorned in hanging flags after they recently saw the Clinton-Ginsburg announcement replaying on television.

It’s a subtle — but noticeable — replication of that look, a White House aide says.

Here’s what it looked like in 1993:

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican Alaska, said despite her statement indicating she doesn’t support President Trump nominating a Supreme Court justice this close to Election Day, she will meet with Amy Coney Barrett as part of the confirmation process.

Here’s her statement:

“For weeks I have stated that I do not support taking up a potential Supreme Court vacancy this close to an election. But today the President exercised his constitutional authority to nominate an individual to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court left by the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. I welcome the opportunity to meet with the Supreme Court nominee, just as I did in 2016.”

Last week, Murkowski said she opposes taking up a Supreme Court nomination prior to Election Day. She did not address whether she will oppose President Donald Trump’s nominee in a lame-duck session if Joe Biden wins the presidency.

Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said that Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett will strike down the Affordable Care Act if she is confirmed.  

“Judiciary Republicans are prepared to vote for whoever the nominee is, but they want to push this person through to steal yet another Supreme Court seat, to vote down the Affordable Care Act,” Hirono said. 

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the future of the ACA on Nov. 10.

“She is going to strike down the Affordable Care Act in the midst of a pandemic, leaving millions and millions of people without health care,” Hirono said. 

The senator from Hawaii told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer she will not be meeting with Barrett ahead of confirmation hearings.  

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said he hopes the nominee will be confirmed by Nov. 1.

“We may not be able to stop it; we can slow it down. But the American people need to know what’s at stake,” Hirono said. “… And what’s at stake is their very health care.”

President Trump is set to hold a rally in Middletown, Pennsylvania, this evening — his first political event after officially nominating Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. 

The event is not scheduled to kick off until 7 p.m. ET, but a significant crowd had already gathered hours ahead of time. As the nominating ceremony began, the large jumbotron over the event switched to Fox News’ live coverage of the event. 

The crowd quieted down and turned its attention to the event enthusiastically cheering as Barrett was announced. Some in the crowd broke out into a chant of “Fill the Seat!”. 

As Barrett delivered her remarks, the Trump crowd cheered as she said she loved America and the Constitution and when she promised to uphold the document as it was written.

They also cheered loudly as she talked about her role as a mother and described her family life.

As is typical with Trump events, this event is being staged once again with little to no precautions in place to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Very few people are wearing masks and the crowd — which numbers in the thousands — is packed in shoulder-to-shoulder.

CNN chief legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin highlighted the differences between late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Trump’s nominee to fill her seat, Amy Coney Barrett. 

“There have only been 114 Supreme Court justices in American history, so any nomination is consequential. But this one is especially important because the judicial philosophies of Ruth Bader Ginsburg…and Amy Coney Barrett could not be more different under our system,” Toobin said.

He outlined the differing views of the conservative federal appeals court judge and the liberal justice Ginsburg. 

“The differences for reproductive freedom, for health care, for gun control — or the absence thereof — affirmative action, so many issues, her views are going to be diametrically opposed to Ruth Ginsburg’s,” he said. “And that’s what Donald Trump promised during the campaign. He is delivering on that promise, and we’re going to see in very short order whether the voters think that’s a good idea.”

Many Democratic lawmakers are mentioning health care and the Affordable Care Act in response to President Trump’s decision to nominate Amy Coney Barrett to the US Supreme Court,

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a statement tied her opposition to Barrett’s nomination to concerns she will support eliminating Obamacare. And Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer told his fellow senators that a vote to confirm Barrett “is a vote to strike down the Affordable Care Act”

Here’s why they’re focusing on health care: The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments just after the November election in a case about the Affordable Care Act.

Senate Republicans have indicated they may vote to confirm Barrett before Election Day — meaning she could be seated on the bench for that case.

What Barrett has said about the Affordable Care Act: In an early 2017 law review essay reviewing a book related to the Supreme Court ruling on the Affordable Care Act, Barrett criticized Chief Justice John Roberts’ rationale that saved the law in 2012.

“Chief Justice Roberts pushed the Affordable Care Act beyond its plausible meaning to save the statute,” Barrett wrote. “He construed the penalty imposed on those without health insurance as a tax, which permitted him to sustain the statute as a valid exercise of the taxing power.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said President Trump’s decision to nominate Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court has put “Americans’ healthcare in the crosshairs.”

“The American people should make no mistake — a vote by any Senator for Judge Amy Coney Barrett is a vote to strike down the Affordable Care Act and eliminate protections for millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions,” Schumer wrote in a statement.

Schumer continued:

“As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage, unabated by this Administration, healthcare was already the number one issue on the ballot in November. President Trump has promised to nominate Supreme Court Justices who will “terminate” our health care law and decimate the health care system for American Indians and Alaska Natives. In Judge Barrett, President Trump has found the deciding vote.”

What this is about: The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments just after the November election in a case about the Affordable Care Act. Senate Republicans have indicated they may vote to confirm Barrett before Election Day — meaning she could be seated on the bench for that case.

In an early 2017 law review essay, reviewing a book related to the Supreme Court ruling on the Affordable Care Act, Barrett criticized Chief Justice John Roberts’ rationale that saved the law in 2012.

“Chief Justice Roberts pushed the Affordable Care Act beyond its plausible meaning to save the statute,” Barrett wrote. “He construed the penalty imposed on those without health insurance as a tax, which permitted him to sustain the statute as a valid exercise of the taxing power.”

Joe Biden released a statement reacting to Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination and focused on health care and protecting the Affordable Care Act.

“Today, President Trump has nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett as the successor to Justice Ginsburg’s seat. She has a written track record of disagreeing with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision upholding the Affordable Care Act. She critiqued Chief Justice John Roberts’ majority opinion upholding the law in 2012,” Biden said.

He added that the Senate should not act on the vacancy until after the American people select their next president. 

Remember: Senate Republicans have outlined a possible confirmation hearing for Barrett that could have her confirmed before Election Day.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments just after the election in a case about the Affordable Care Act. The case is brought by a coalition of Republican state attorneys general and the Trump administration, who argue the law’s individual mandate is unconstitutional, and the entire law must fall.

Amy Coney Barrett honored the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in her speech after President Trump selected her to fill Ginsburg’s Supreme Court seat.

“Should I be confirmed, I will be mindful who came before me,” she said. “The flag of the United States is still flying at half-staff in memory of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to mark the end of a great American life.”

Barrett continued: “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.”

Barrett — who once clerked for Justice Antonin Scalia — noted Ginsburg’s friendship with the conservative Justice.

While Ginsburg and Scalia disagreed “fiercely,” they demonstrated disagreements “need not destroy affection.”

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President Trump, while announcing that he’s nominating Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, urged Democrats to grant her a “respectful and dignified” hearing.

“I urge all members of the other side of the aisle to provide Judge Barrett with the respectful and dignified hearing that she deserves, and frankly that our country deserves,” Trump said while speaking from the White House. “I urge lawmakers and members of the media to refrain from personal or partisan attacks. The stakes for our country are incredibly high.”

The battle of the Supreme Court vacancy has shaped the 2020 election in the past week. Many Democrats have said the seat should not be filled before the election, while Republicans in the Senate are moving to confirm Trump’s nominee before Election Day.

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Trump “could not have made a better decision” in selecting Amy Coney Barrett as his Supreme Court nominee.

McConnell has been steadfast that the US Senate will vote on President Trump’s nomination to the Supreme Court this year.

President Trump has selected Amy Coney Barrett to fill Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Supreme Court seat.

Barrett, 48, was a finalist for the Supreme Court spot that went to Brett Kavanaugh in 2018.

She was confirmed in 2017 for her current judgeship on the 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin.

Born in New Orleans in 1972 and a 1997 Notre Dame law graduate, Barrett worked in private practice and then became a law professor, settling at Notre Dame in 2002. She once served as a former law clerk to the late right-wing beacon Justice Antonin Scalia.

Barrett, if confirmed, will certainly tilt the high court further rightward for years to come. She has demonstrated her conservative bona fides on Second Amendment gun rights, immigration and abortion. You can read more about her writings here.

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President Trump is in the Rose Garden for his Supreme Court announcement. He is accompanied Judge Amy Coney Barrett.

President Trump is expected to announce who he is nominating to fill the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Supreme Court seat at 5 p.m. ET.

He’ll make the announcement in the White House Rose Garden, which has been transformed to look similar to June 14, 1993 — the day then-President Bill Clinton announced Ginsburg’s nomination to the high court.

Trump is expected to nominate Amy Coney Barrett, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the process.

This will be the third person Trump has nominated to the Supreme Court, following Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.

President Trump will soon announce his nominee to fill Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Supreme Court seat.

This will be the third time Trump has nominated someone to fill a Supreme Court vacancy.

His first Supreme Court pick was Neil Gorsuch in 2017, whom he selected to fill the vacancy created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Former President Barack Obama had nominated Merrick Garland for the seat in 2016 — but Republicans refused to fill the election-year Supreme Court vacancy.

Then, in 2018, when Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement, Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh.

President Trump will soon announce his nominee to the US Supreme Court. He intends to choose Amy Coney Barrett, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the process.

Some Republican senators have signaled they will quickly move to take up the nomination following the announcement. This sets the stage for the possibility of a final confirmation vote before Election Day.

Two Republican senators — Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins — have said they do not support voting on the nomination of a Supreme Court justice ahead of the election.

But now that Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney has signaled that he is on board with moving ahead with a vote, Barrett’s likely to be confirmed barring any potential missteps.

According to a likely schedule being circulated around the Senate, the hearing to confirm Trump’s pick could begin on Oct. 12.

President Trump will announce his Supreme Court justice nominee at 5 p.m. ET today. He intends to choose Amy Coney Barrett, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the process.

If you’re just reading in, here’s what we know about Barrett:

For the Supreme Court announcement today, the Rose Garden is being transformed to look similar to June 14, 1993 — the day then-President Bill Clinton announced Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s nomination to the high court.

It is a very distinctive look, with large flags hanging down from the Colonnade, one after another, between the columns.

A White House aide who is involved in making the preparations today sent a photo to CNN showing the flags. It is designed to replicate the look of Ginsburg’s announcement. 

President Trump and his advisers specifically asked for the Rose Garden to be adorned in hanging flags after they recently saw the Clinton-Ginsburg announcement replaying on television.

It’s a subtle — but noticeable — replication of that look, a White House aide says.

The likely confirmation hearing schedule in the Senate Judiciary Committee for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, President Trump’s expected pick for the Supreme Court vacancy, is being circulated to members of the Senate, according to three people familiar with the process.  

The schedule would be as follows: 

Remember: This schedule is subject to change if something unexpected comes up in the next few weeks, but Republicans are pretty locked in on this timeline. It would tee up a Senate floor vote shortly before Election Day.

Judge Amy Coney Barrett, who sources say Trump intends to nominate to the Supreme Court, and her family were seen leaving their South Bend, Indiana, this afternoon.

Barrett, her husband and her children were seen in fancy attire. Prior to Barrett herself walking out, her children loaded suitcases into the car. Barrett drove one car and her husband drove another car, splitting the kids between the two of them.

She did not answer questions about where she was heading or if the President had called her to offer her the Supreme Court nomination.

You can read some of Barrett’s most notable dissents here.

CORRECTION: This post has been updated to correct the city in which Barrett resides.

Ahead of Trump’s scheduled Supreme Court nomination announcement, March For Our Lives organizers teamed up with Demand Justice, a progressive organization focused on balancing the courts, and artist Nadine Bloch to paint “We Call BS” outside Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s house Saturday. 

March For Our Lives — the gun violence prevention organization founded in the wake of the Parkland school shooting in 2018 — advocates for gun violence prevention laws. Organizers say they believe that Judge Amy Coney Barrett, who sources say Trump intends to nominate, would be detrimental to the goals of their movement. 

In recent months, March For Our Lives has taken up a number of other social causes including voting rights, police violence and other intersectional issues, organizers say. 

Some background: The phrase “We Call BS” has been coined by March For Our Lives as a way to show frustration and has been used by young activists who demand change from elected officials.

“MFOL really began with Emma‘s speech in 2018 where she famously said ‘we call BS’ on the gun lobby and politicians who fail to act and protect our lives and that we demand that the people in power, the adults actually do something to protect us the children who are affected by gun violence,” David Hogg, the co-founder of March For Our Lives, told CNN. 

About a dozen organizers joined in to paint the mural on Saturday, according to those present. 

Why McConnell’s house: Organizers are specifically targeting McConnell for his role in pushing forward a Supreme Court justice nomination process, as well as his commitment to the gun lobby, they said. 

“We are doing this in front of Mitch McConnell‘s house right now because we believe that the American people should be able to make their voice heard in determining who is the next supreme court justice is after the election,” Hogg said.  

“We’re outside of Mitch McConnell‘s house because he has the power to listen to the will of American people and fulfill RBG’s dying wish, just as he has had the power to bring bi-partisan house-passed common sense legislation to a vote. Unfortunately he has proven time and time again that he is beholden to the gun lobby and special interests over the desires of his constituents in KY and the American people,” Eve Levenson, the 20-year-old policy and government affair manager for March For Our Lives said.

March For Our Lives organizers told CNN they in part disagree with pushing forward on a Supreme Court nomination process because American voters have already started to cast their ballot in the 2020 election. 

“We demand that Mitch McConnell let the people decide who will nominate the next supreme court justice. If all goes as he wants it to, over 40% of the country will have voted when the decision is made. that’s not democracy. We call BS,” Maxwell Frost, the 23-year-old national organizing director for March For Our Lives said.

President Donald Trump is set to announce a Supreme Court nominee to fill the vacancy left by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg this evening, formally kicking off a contentious and high-stakes battle over the fate of the court that will play out in a bitterly-divided Senate.

Senate Republicans, who have the majority in the upper chamber, have signaled plans to quickly move to take up the nomination, setting the stage for the possibility of a final confirmation vote before Election Day.

Here’s how that could happen:

A confirmation vote by October 29 — if it were to happen — would mean only around 33 days between the announcement of a nominee and the vote to confirm. 

Vice President Mike Pence and second lady Karen Pence will be at the Rose Garden for President Trump’s formal unveiling of his Supreme Court pick at 5:00 p.m. ET, according to the Vice President’s daily guidance. 

Pence has no other events on his schedule today. 

Two guests invited to attend Trump’s Supreme Court nominee announcement in the Rose Garden event today – Notre Dame colleagues of Judge Amy Coney Barrett, who sources have told CNN the President is intending on nominating – said there was no mention of being tested for Covid-19.

The guests told CNN none of the logistical emails they received from the White House mentioned possible testing.They were told to arrive at the White House at 4 p.m. ET, and they received the invitations to attend the event early Friday.

Barrett has been on the faculty of Notre Dame’s law school since 2002.

There are approximately ten Notre Dame Law faculty going to the Rose Garden event, one of the attendees told CNN.

White House spokesperson Judd Deere told CNN that anyone in close proximity to the President will be tested, and that there will be social distancing measures at today’s event. 

Sen. Dick Durbin, the Democratic whip and a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told CNN’s Michael Smerconish that he plans to meet with and attend the confirmation hearing for President Trump’s Supreme Court pick.

Several Democrats told CNN this week they won’t bother meeting with the nominee now over their concerns with the expedited process in the Senate. 

Durbin told Smerconish, “I can only speak for myself,” and noted that he’s spoken to every past nominee to the high court because he thinks it is “not only respectful, but it’s important.”

CNN reported on Friday that President Trump intends to nominate Amy Coney Barrett, according to multiple senior Republican sources with knowledge of the process.

Durbin would not definitively weigh in on Barrett’s qualifications, but he did express interest in learning more about the judge’s views on the Affordable Care Act, as the court will hear oral arguments for the Obama-era healthcare law on Nov. 10, and the President’s recent refusal to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the election.

If Judge Amy Coney Barrett is nominated today for the Supreme Court vacancy — as sources have told CNN the President is intending — she is expected to be on Capitol Hill Tuesday to begin courtesy calls, per GOP sources.

She’ll also meet with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell then, sources said.

More on a possible timeline: Senate Republicans, who have the majority in the upper chamber, have signaled plans to quickly move to take up the nomination in the midst of an election season where control of the White House and Congress are on the line, setting the stage for the possibility of a final confirmationvote before Election Day on Nov. 3.

That timeline would leave no room for error and only a little more than a month for the Senate to complete the confirmation process. 

The presidential debates are around the corner, with Democratic nominee Joe Biden and President  Trump set to square off for the first time on stage next Tuesday.

All debates are scheduled to take place from 9 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. ET on their respective dates without commercial breaks.

Here’s what we know about the first debate:

President Trump intends to choose Amy Coney Barrett to be the new Supreme Court justice, according to multiple senior Republican sources with knowledge of the process.

In conversations with some senior Republican allies on the Hill, the White House is indicating that Barrett is the intended nominee, multiple sources said.

All sources cautioned that until it is announced by the President, there is always the possibility that Trump makes a last-minute change but the expectation is Barrett is the choice. He is scheduled to make the announcement on Saturday afternoon.

Barrett has been the leading choice throughout the week, since Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died. She is the only potential nominee known to have met with the President in person, according to two of the sources. One source said Trump was familiar with Barrett already and he met with her since she was a top contender the last time there was a Supreme Court vacancy, when the President chose Justice Brett Kavanaugh instead.

Barrett was seen at her South Bend, Indiana, home on Friday. It was not clear if Barrett had been told she is the choice. Often that is done as late as possible to maintain secrecy around the announcement.

“The machinery is in motion,” one of the sources said. In previous nomination announcements, the White House had multiple rollouts planned in case the President made a last-minute decision to switch to another candidate. But one source said it would be surprising if there were a change since allies are already being told.

The White House declined to comment.

“She was the plan all along. She’s the most distinguished and qualified by traditional measures. She has the strongest support among the legal conservatives who have dedicated their lives to the court. She will contribute most to the court’s jurisprudence in the years and decades to come,” according to a former senior administration official familiar with the process.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has made clear in conversations with Trump and White House counsel Pat Cipollone that the Senate GOP conference would be comfortable with Barrett, two people with knowledge of the conversations told CNN earlier this week. Sen. Todd Young, who hails from Barrett’s home state of Indiana and leads the Senate Republican campaign arm, has also been an advocate, the people said.

The President indicated he has spoken to multiple candidates, but the White House has not been willing to say if other conversations were in person.

Barrett was at the White House on Monday and Tuesday of this week. She impressed the President and others during the initial meetings, two sources told CNN earlier this week.