And The Supreme Court Rose Goes To: Amy Coney Barrett
Reports are that Donald Trump intends to nominate Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court seat vacated by Ruth Bader Ginsburg just 7 days ago.
CNN is reporting that Donald Trump is going to nominate right wing darling Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court seat left open when Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed just a week ago. A reminder - RBG hasn't even been buried. She is lying in state at Congress. It is 39 days until the election. Mitch McConnell held up Merrick Garland's nomination for over 230 days before the 2016 election.
Oh, also? Amy Coney Barrett is super crazy right wing.
Some of the most disturbing reports about Amy Coney Barrett have to do with her particular sect of Catholicism - People of Praise. They have been compared to the type of Christianity espoused in The Handmaid's Tale. In that book, a dystopian and patriarchal society, women are exploited by men in every possible way. They are forced to don red gowns and white hair covering and serve men. Other characters serve as housemaids and cooks or as wives. Men are in control of everything - government, military, media and, of course, women's bodies.
So what does this have to do with Amy Coney Barrett? Her church refers to females and female advisers are "handmaidens." Margaret Atwood, the author of the Handmaid's Tale, did not say that she used People of Praise as inspiration for her work, but it was a cult quite similar to this one.
Back to the SCOTUS Rose Ceremony, coming to TVs nationwide on Saturday at 5pm (set your DVR's!). Jake Tapper broke the news during the 4pm block on Friday about the selection of Amy Coney Barrett:
BROWN: Jake, my colleague and I have learned that President Trump intends to choose Amy Coney Barrett to be the new Supreme Court justice. This is according to multiple senior Republican sources with knowledge of the process. Now, in conversations with some senior Republican allies on the Hill, the White House has indicated, suggested that Barrett is the intended nominee, these sources said. But we should note all sources have caution that until it is announced by the president, there is always that possibility that he could make a last-minute change, but the expectation as of now, nearly 24 hours away from that announcement is that Judge Barrett is the choice. And he's scheduled to make that announcement tomorrow afternoon.
She's been the leading choice throughout this week since Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died. She is the only potential nominee known to have met with the president in the White House in person this week according to two of the sources. And one source said that Trump was familiar with Barrett already, as we know he had met with her. Previously, he had met with her twice. This week he had been the top contender last time there was a vacancy. She was seen at her South Bend, Indiana, home Friday. It is not clear if she had been told that she is the choice, the intended nominee. Often than done as late as possible to maintain secrecy around the announcement. But as one source told me, Jake, the machinery is in motion. In previous nomination announcements, the White House had multiple rollouts planned just 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. But, again, anything could happen between now and the announcement given the unpredictable nature of this president, Jake.
TAPPER: Indeed. Nothing's official until it's official. This is what sources expect that he will do, but president Trump could change his mind. What would this mean for the Supreme Court, presuming that Amy Coney Barrett were confirmed? Ariane, what would this mean for the makeup of the court? What would it mean for Roe v. Wade? What would it mean for Obamacare? What would it mean for all sorts of issues?
DE VOGUE: This would be a dream pick for the religious right. She's young, she's 48 years old. She would be the youngest member on this court. Of course it's a life-tenured position. She is in the mold of Justice Scalia. And we know how important that is to president Trump. In fact, she's a former clerk of Scalia. And she was one of his favorites. She sat and sits on appeals court based out of Chicago. Before that, she taught at Notre Dame. And keep in mind, she has met with Trump. And she has been fully vetted. There were some people who wanted Barrett to take the seat that eventually went to Kavanaugh. They really wanted her for that seat at the time. People thought then she would probably be a good replacement for Ginsburg if that seat ever opened up.
Another thing to keep in mind is during her confirmation hearing for the lower court, the Democrats, particularly Dianne Feinstein, really went after her Catholic faith and asked some pointed questions. After that, Jake, it was conservatives that really galvanized them. And they were furious, saying that that was the Democrats showing anti-Catholic bias. Keep in mind, Jake, the term is supposed to begin the first Monday in October, a week after the election, the court is going to hear Obamacare. And when she -- in 2017 she wrote a law review article. And she was very skeptical of Chief Justice John Roberts' reasoning back in the days when he saved Obamacare. So that's going to worry the Democrats.
Twitter had thoughts:
Under his Eye.