Judge Amy Coney Barrett Deserves Swift Supreme Court Confirmation

The following article is sponsored by the Judicial Crisis Network and authored by Penny Nance.

American voters want Judge Amy Coney Barrett to succeed the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the high court. The percentage of Democrat voters, moreover, that want to see Judge Barrett confirmed to the Supreme Court has doubled in the last two weeks.

Analysis from a joint Morning Consult-Politico poll says 46 percent of voters agree “the Senate should confirm Barrett — up 9 percentage points since President Donald Trump announced her nomination on Sept. 26 — as more voters say the chamber should consider her elevation to the high court as soon as possible.”

The numbers don’t lie. Judge Barrett deserves a swift confirmation to the Supreme Court, as evidenced by her cross-party appeal nationwide, the endorsement of colleagues and friends from across the aisle, and an impressive appearance at her confirmation hearings.

Americans trust Judge Barrett to sit on the Supreme Court and issue opinions that are fair and rooted in sound interpretation of the law rather than in lockstep with public opinion. As Barrett said during her hearings, policymaking isn’t the work of a judge or justice.

“Justices can’t just wake up one day and say, ‘I have an agenda, I like guns, I hate guns, I like abortion, I hate abortion,’ and walk in like a royal queen and impose their will on the world,” she said Tuesday, the second day of her confirmation hearings.

Members of the Senate should wholeheartedly endorse the nominee, not only because of her approach to the law but also because she’s earned high praise from friends and colleagues, many of whom don’t share Barrett’s approach to the law or political ideology.

The American Bar Association, moreover, awarded Judge Barrett its most prestigious rating upon evaluating Judge Barrett on her integrity, professionalism, competence and judicial temperament.

“A substantial majority of the Standing Committee determined that Judge Barrett is ‘Well Qualified,’ and a minority opinion is of the opinion that she is ‘Qualified’ to serve on the Supreme Court, Randall Noel, chairman of the ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary, said. “The majority rating represents the Standing Committee’s official rating.”

In addition to her bipartisan support among likely voters and colleagues, Judge Barrett won over several Democrat Senators in her 2017 confirmation hearing for a seat on the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. They included Senators Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, and Tim Kaine of Virginia — who had been Hillary Clinton’s vice presidential running mate the year before.

This time around, even ranking committee member Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA.) admitted to being “really impressed” with an answer Judge Barrett gave explaining the so-called “severability” principle, which holds that a piece of legislation could otherwise remain intact even if part is ruled unconstitutional.

Even if no Democrats vote for her this year, Judge Barrett has the resounding support of the American people, her colleagues, the Senate majority and her unfailingly faithful children and husband, who have remained by her side throughout the marathon of questioning.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he has the votes to confirm Judge Barrett. Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee should move without delay to send Judge Barrett’s nomination to the full Senate for a final floor vote. From there, members of the Senate should give would-be-Justice Barrett the ‘Yea’ vote she deserves.

Penny Nance is president and CEO of Concerned Women for America, the nation’s largest public policy women’s organization.