Pres. Trump picks conservative Barrett to fill Supreme Court vacancy

U.S. President Donald Trump nominated on Saturday Amy Coney Barrett (48), a conservative white woman who sits on the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, as a new Supreme Court justice. The nomination came eight days after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who was known as the icon of liberals, on September 18. As President Trump pushed ahead to nominate a successor to Ginsburg despite Democrats’ opposition, the nomination has become the most contentious issue in the presidential election, which is only about 30 days away.

In announcing the reason for nominating Barrett on the day, President Trump said, “Justice Barrett is a woman of towering intellect, and unyielding loyalty to the Constitution.” Standing by the U.S. president, Barrett said, “I love America and the U.S. Constitution. A judge must apply the law as written. Judges are not policymakers,” in expressing her conservative tendency. If Barrett gets confirmed by the U.S. Senate, the U.S. Supreme Court, which determines ideological landscape of the American society, will have six conservatives versus three liberals.

The Republican Party, who holds 53 seats of the 100-seat Senate, is committed to complete Barrett’s confirmation before the November 3 presidential election. The Democrats are vehemently opposing the nomination, saying Justice Ginsburg would flip her body in the tomb, but they will unlikely be able to overcome lack of seats. The U.S. media forecasts that the Senate will start confirmation hearings on October 12, before holding a ballot on her confirmation late October.


Jae-Dong Yu jarrett@donga.com