President Donald Trump officially announced Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, just one week after the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the court’s eldest judge at 87. Barrett’s nomination comes just 38 days before Election Day.
“Today it is my honor to nominate one of our nation’s most brilliant legal minds, Judge Amy Coney Barrett,” Trump said.
Trump said that Barrett will decide cases based on the text of the Constitution. He urged Democrats to give her a “respectful and dignified” Senate hearing, and cautioned the media from stoking a “personal and partisan” confirmation process.
In her acceptance speech, Barrett honored the life of Ginsburg, and pledged to hold to the Constitution.
“Thank you Mr. President. I am deeply honored by the confidence you have placed in me,” 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. Should I be confirmed, I will be mindful of those who came before me.”
Barrett, 48, is currently a judge on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, a position she was confirmed to in 2017 after being nominated by Trump. She graduated from Notre Dame Law School and has worked there as a professor since 2002.
Barrett is a devout Catholic and mother of seven children, including two adopted children and another with Down Syndrome.