Donald Trump on Saturday nominated Amy Coney Barrett as the new Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court. The US president announced his nomination at a meeting at the White House. The conservative Barrett replaces Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died of pancreatic cancer last Friday at the age of 89.
Trump announced last week that the successor to the progressive Chief Justice Ginsburg would likely become a woman. “I think it must be a woman because I actually like women a lot more than men,” said the president. He already mentioned Barrett as a possible candidate.
Barrett (48) is known as a conservative judge. She is still a judge at the federal appeals court in Chicago. Previously, she was a professor of law at Notre Dame University in the state of Indiana. In 2018, she was also mentioned as a possible replacement for Chief Justice Anthony Kennedy, who was retiring. Ultimately, Trump then chose Brett Kavanaugh.
The US Supreme Court is the most important legal body in the US. The judges are appointed for life, so the preference of the appointed candidate can have a long-term influence. Barrett is the third judge to nominate Trump since his appointment in 2017. He previously appointed two Conservatives as Chief Justice: Neil Gorsuch in 2017 and Kavanaugh in 2018.
Conservative majority bolstered by Barrett’s choice
There are nine judges in total, including one chief justice. There are currently five Conservative judges and three more liberal since Ginsburg’s death. Judges play an important and decisive role in American politics. For example, the Supreme Court legalized abortion in 1973 and same-sex marriage in 2015.
As a result of Barrett’s nomination, the conservative majority of the Supreme Court will be further strengthened. This means, among other things, that it becomes easier to reverse previous decision-making.
Republicans blocked nomination in 2016
The Democrats want the nomination to be delayed until after the presidential election on November 3, just like the Republicans did in 2016.
After the death of Judge Antonin Scalia, they blocked the appointment of progressive Judge Merrick Garland by then-President Barack Obama. The Republicans felt that a president should not appoint a new chief justice in the last year of his term.
The Senate has yet to approve the appointment. At the moment, however, Republicans have a majority in the Senate.
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