Amy Coney Barrett pays tribute to Ruth Bader Ginsburg after being announced as Supreme Court nominee
Washington — Judge Amy Coney Barrett, President Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court, paid homage to the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg as she accepted the president's nomination Saturday, praising the justice as a pioneer who "not only broke glass ceilings," but "smashed them."
"Should I be confirmed, I will be mindful of who came before me," Barrett said in remarks after Mr. Trump announced her as his nominee to the Supreme Court. "The flag of the United States is still flying at half-staff in memory of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to mark the end of a great American life. Justice Ginsburg began her career at a time when women were not welcome in the legal profession, but she not only broke glass ceilings, she smashed them."
Mr. Trump's announcement of his Supreme Court nominee came just over a week after Ginsburg died of complications from metastatic pancreatic cancer. Ginsburg served as the liberal anchor of the high court, and if Barrett is confirmed by the Senate, her appointment will expand the court's conservative majority to 6-3.
In reflecting on Ginsburg's legacy as a trailblazing attorney in the fight for women's rights, Barrett said the late justice "has won the admiration of women across the country and indeed all over the world."
"She was a woman of enormous talent and consequence, and her life of public service serves as an example to us all," Barrett said.
Barrett, a judge on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, also highlighted Ginsburg's longtime friendship with the late Justice Antonin Scalia, who was a strong conservative voice on the Supreme Court.
Barrett noted the two, who often found themselves on opposing sides of cases, "disagreed fiercely in print without rancor in person."
"These two great Americans demonstrated that arguments, even about matters of great consequence, need not destroy affection," she said.
Barrett served as a law clerk for Scalia on the Supreme Court and said she strives to meet the standard set by the justices' relationship in her personal and professional life.
If confirmed by the Senate, Barrett would be Mr. Trump's third Supreme Court justice and just the fifth woman to serve on the high court.