Who is Amy Coney Barrett, Ruth Bader Ginsburg's replacement judge?

In just a few days, President Trump is expected to nominate a replacement for the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (opens in new tab), who died Friday. President Trump has stated on numerous occasions that the nominee will likely be a woman, and one of the leading contenders is Judge Amy Coney Barrett. The New Orleans native is one of five female nominees the president is officially considering (opens in new tab), and many White House officials have said that Connie Barrett seems certain to be the frontrunner for the position. If nominated, she would be the youngest judge in the country at 48 years old.

09/25 Update: According to several Republican sources close to the process of selecting a new nominee, President Donald Trump plans to nominate Amy Coney Barrett to be the new Supreme Court justice. The "machinery is in motion," one of the sources told CNN. The decision is expected to be announced Saturday afternoon, according to the report.

"She has been planned all along. She is the most qualified and eligible by traditional indicators," a former administration official explained to CNN.

"She has the strongest support among legal conservatives who have devoted their lives to the courts. She will contribute most to the Court's jurisprudence in the years and decades to come."

Connie Barrett, a summa cum laude graduate of Notre Dame Law School, began her career as Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's clerk from 1998 to 1999 before becoming a professor there in 2002 (opens in new tab).

Many religious conservatives consider her the "ideological successor" (opens in new tab) to former conservative Justice Scalia, and some of her fellow clerks say she was his favorite. (According to the New York Times (open in new tab), she is a "clericalist" like Scalia, "one who interprets the law according to its plain language, as opposed to one who seeks to achieve the goals of the legislature."

Barrett has the support of many conservative and anti-abortion groups. However, she has in the past brushed off questions on the topic.

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, a leading anti-abortion group, has praised her: "She is the perfect combination of a brilliant legal scholar and a woman who brings to the court arguments that may be contrary to the opinions of sitting female judges."

However, Barrett has gone against several conservative decisions in the past; according to the IndyStar (opens in new tab), Barrett "sought a rehearing of the case that struck down former Indiana Governor Mike Pence's 2016 abortion law that banned abortion in cases where the fetus is disabled "

In a January 2013 speech, Barrett also stated that Roe v. Wade was "unlikely" to be overturned because of the 1992 case Planned Parenthood v. Casey. He said, "At this point, I think it is very unlikely that the Court will overturn Roe or Roe as it was suppressed by Casey. The basic element that women have the right to choose abortion will probably be upheld," Barrett said (opens in new tab). The controversy now is about funding. The question is whether abortion will be publicly funded or privately funded."

In that very same lecture, she went so far as to say (opens in new tab) that Roe continues to complicate things beyond the law, and that "Republicans are heavily invested in getting judges who will overturn Roe, and Democrats are heavily invested in getting judges who will maintain Roe's central holding. The result is a divisive confirmation fight unlike anything we have seen before."

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During Connie Barrett's review, concerns were raised that her decisions on certain cases would be influenced by decisions that were in line with her religious preferences.

Barrett belongs to a small Catholic group called the "People of Praise" (opens in new tab), whose "senior members" (who, incidentally, are called "heads" if they are men or "servants" if they are women, and who tell members who to marry, where to live, how to raise their children and other important life decisions), and they listen to them.

At Barrett's hearing, Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein expressed her concerns as follows (opens in new tab): "Reading your speech, I conclude that dogma lives loudly within you. And that is a concern when faced with a major issue that many people in this country have been struggling with for years."

To this Barrett replied (opens in new tab): "It is never appropriate to impose a judge's personal beliefs, whether arising from faith or otherwise, on the law."

She was eventually approved by the Senate later that year, 55-43. Three of the yes votes were Democrats: senators Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia), and former senator Joe Donnelly (D-Indiana). [According to The Hill (opens in new tab), Barrett met with President Trump at the White House on Monday. According to sources, this indicates that President Trump is seriously considering Barrett, along with Barbara Lagoa.

"She's one of those people who is highly respected, but they are all respected," President Trump said of Barrett. 'She's certainly one of the candidates.'

This is not the first time she has been considered, however; in 2018, Barrett was one of a number of names mentioned as a possible replacement for retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy. Nevertheless, the president ultimately nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh. According to sources, she has an advantage because she has gone through the vetting process once before.

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