GOP expecting Trump to tap Barrett for high court
WASHINGTON — Republicans are expecting President Donald Trump to announce Saturday that he is nominating Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the SupremeCourtasheaimsto put a historic stamp on the high court justweeks before the election.
Conservative groups and congressional allies are laying the groundwork for a swift confirmation process for Barrett, even before Trump makes the selection official in a Rose Garden ceremony Saturday evening. They, like the president, are wasting little timemoving to replace the late JusticeRuth Bader Ginsburg, organizing multimillion-dollar ad campaigns and marshaling supporters both to confirm the pick andto boostTrumpto a second term.
For days, White House officials have indicated to congressional Republicans and outside allies that Barrett is Trump’s pick, but Trump aides have offered no official word as they try to maintain some suspense before the official announcement.
The likely shift in the court’s makeup — from Ginsburg, a liberal icon, to an outspoken conservative — would be the sharpest ideological swing since Clarence Thomas replaced Justice Thurgood Marshall nearly three decades ago.
Senate Republicans are readying for confirmation hearings in twoweeks, with a vote in the full chamber now expected before Election Day. Democrats are essentially powerless to block the votes.
“They’rehell-bentongetting this done as fast as possible,” said Democratic Senate whip Dick Durbin of Illinois. “They think it helps Donald Trump get re
elected.”
Outside conservative groups, who have been preparing for this moment for 40 years, are planning to spend more than $25 million to support Trump and his nominee. The Judicial Crisis Network has organized a coalition that includes American First Policies, the Susan B. Anthony List, the Club for Growth and the group CatholicVote.
“One of the things we’ve learned fromthe histories of confirmation processes, the intensity of the fight has more to do with the previous occupant of the seat than who the nominee is,” said JCN’s Carrie Severino. “We expect this to be a very high-stakes confirmation.”
Within hours of Ginsburg’s death, Trump made clear his intention to nominate a woman in her stead, after previously putting two men on the court and as he struggles to mitigate an erosion in support among suburbanwomen.
The White House has already concluded a round of vetting this month, as Trump released an additional 20 names he would consider for the court. He has challenged Democrat Joe Biden to list possible nominees too.
Trump had said he was
considering five women for Ginsburg’s seat, including Florida’s Barbara Lagoa and Michigan’s Joan Larsen. Barrett, of Indiana, was at the White House at least twice this week, including for a meeting Monday with Trump. He is not known to have met with any of the other contenders.
The staunch conservative’s 2017 appeals court confirmation on a party-line vote included allegations thatDemocratswere attacking her Catholic faith. Trump allies see that as a political windfall for them should Democrats attempt to do so once again. Catholic voters in Pennsylvania, in particular, are viewed as a pivotal demographic in the swing state that Biden, also Catholic, is trying to recapture.
Vice President Mike Pence defended Barrett when asked whether her affiliation with People of Praise, a charismatic Christian community, would complicate her ability to serve on the high court.
“I must tell you the intolerance expressed during her last confirmation about her Catholic faith I really think was a disservice to the process and a disappointment to millions of Americans,” he told ABCNews.