Blackburn Votes to Confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the United States Supreme Court
October 26, 2020
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, voted to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. Judge Barrett was confirmed by a vote of 52-48.
“We have learned three things from this process:
“First, Judge Barrett is an eminently qualified constitutionalist who will serve our nation honorably as a Supreme Court Justice. Judge Barrett avoided traps when asked to pre-commit to outcomes on contentious issues, even as Democrats condescendingly accused her of not understanding recusal rules. She assured us of her commitment to independence and impartiality, and promised to serve with integrity and fairness. She will be a fair jurist and inspire women across the nation to ‘go get it.’
“Second, the Democrats want to turn the federal judiciary into a superlegislature to push progressive policies they cannot advance through Congress. The left is worried that a constitutionalist judge will prohibit their implementation of government-run health care. Their scare tactics include baseless claims that those with pre-existing conditions will lose coverage, when the reality is that just weeks ago, Democrats killed Republican efforts to reaffirm protections for those with pre-existing conditions in our proposal for more COVID-19 relief. In their efforts to discredit Judge Barrett, Democrats revealed their true intentions: to use the court as a means to a political end.
“Third, the left’s intolerance hurts all women. All Americans saw how the mainstream media mischaracterized Judge Barrett. My colleagues’ questions showed how little Democrats got to know her, and how fast they rushed to judgment about her supposed views, qualities and accomplishments. Independent-thinking women should not be made to feel like their beliefs are any less valuable than those prescribed by leftist leaders who purport to speak for all women. We all have our own minds, as Judge Barrett said in the hearing.
“Tonight, I was pleased to vote to confirm Judge Barrett to the Supreme Court, and I look forward to calling her Justice Barrett.”
BACKGROUND
Senator Blackburn has been a strong supporter of Judge Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court.
Oct. 25, following floor vote to advance the nomination:
“We are going to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court. And as we do this, we know that she is going to take that seat as a capable, competent, skilled jurist. And we know that she is going to be someone to sit on that court and, yes, she’s going to call balls and strikes.”
Oct. 22, following the Judiciary Committee vote to advance the nomination:
“Throughout this process, Senate Democrats have proved my point several times over: the left believes that only certain women ought to have a seat of the table. They did it again today when they failed to show up to provide their advice and consent. It is discouraging to see the left advocate for diversity when at every opportunity they try to squash the voices of conservative women. This narrowmindedness needs to stop. All women deserve the opportunity to rise to the highest levels of their careers.”
Oct. 14, Day Three of the Hearing:
“[Judge Barrett] earned her way to a seat at the table. This is why all of [the Democrats’] assaults and attacks they made in that hearing room…couldn’t seem to land… She was very well prepared. She could quote all the cases. She could reference the work and her writings, and do it without referring to notes. If she felt like she misspoke, she asked for the opportunity to clarify that statement. So, they never really could land an attack on her, which I think is to her credit.”
Oct 13, Day Two of the Hearing:
“The way [Democrats] tried to build out the Affordable Care Act argument and tilt everything to health care and then create a national panic, saying, ‘People are terrified...’ They're trying to create this panic and say she is going to take their health care away, which is not true. They never [admit], ‘if we get our way, if we get socialized medicine, then 153 million Americans are going to lose your private health insurance.’”
Oct 12, Day One of the Hearing:
“Judge Barrett, congratulations to you and your family. I’m delighted to see you back in the room… You will be an intellectual powerhouse on the Supreme Court and steer their focus toward textualism and originalism as rightful guiding philosophies… You have written nearly 100 opinions and have participated in over 900 appeals where you have applied this complex reasoning… We know that you are a prolific scholar and author of over a dozen articles on the courts and the Constitution.”
Oct. 11 on court packing:
“People do not want to see an expanded Supreme Court – and this is what court packing is: it is expanding the number of jurists, the number of justices, on the Supreme Court so you can get your way, so you can have an activist bench. It makes them like a ‘superlegislature’… [Democrats] are trying to change the meaning of court packing… What they are trying to do is fundamentally, structurally change the court so they can add liberal justices and use that as a superlegislature.”
Oct. 1, following Senator Blackburn’s meeting with Judge Barrett:
“After my conversation with Judge Amy Coney Barrett today, I understand why attorneys and legal experts describe her as the finest constitutional scholar of her generation. As a professor, she shared her love of the law with her students and shaped countless careers through patient instruction. As an attorney and judge, her diligent application of the law has contributed to a truly impressive body of work and a cohesive view of the judiciary’s role. In the coming weeks I look forward to listening as Judge Barrett presents her record before the Senate Judiciary Committee, and demonstrates her ability to rule fairly, justly, and with utmost faith to the Constitution.”
Sept. 30, during a press conference with Republican women Senators in support of Judge Barrett:
“Let me tell you something about religious liberty: I think many of us know if you’re a woman who is pro-life, pro-family, pro-religion that many times the left will say, ‘We don’t want to hear your voice. We get it’… We know that there are some on the Left that would rather you be a secularist or an atheist in order to serve on the federal bench. But again, your religious beliefs and being a religious person, being a mom who takes her seven children to church every week, ought not to be a disqualifier.”
Sept. 26, following President Trump’s decision to nominate the Honorable Amy Coney Barrett:
“Amy Coney Barrett is a respected constitutionalist and an excellent nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. Much like her mentor, the late Justice Antonin Scalia, she will be a textualist and originalist devoted to upholding the rule of law. She is a jurist we can trust to safeguard our religious liberties at a time when these freedoms are increasingly under attack. Americans saw firsthand Judge Barrett’s commitment to her values and principles during her confirmation hearing for the U.S Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in 2017. Since taking the bench, she has authored nearly 100 opinions. Beyond her experience on the bench, Judge Barrett is a mother of seven with an impressive legal career. After graduating from Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, she received her law degree from Notre Dame Law School, where she is now a professor.”
