WASHINGTON D.C.- The Rose Garden on a pleasant evening, 26th September 2020, bore a festive look at the White House with American flags hanging along the colonnade, while the PA system added to the color with patriotic music. President Trump was set to announce his intent to nominate Judge Amy Coney Barrett, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit – to fill the Supreme Court vacancy of Associate Justice created by the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
September 26, 2020, Washington, District of Columbia, USA: President Donald Trump announces Amy Coney Barrett, 48, as his nominee for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States during a ceremony in the Rose Garden at The White House in Washington, DC., Saturday, September 26, 2020.Credit: Rod Lamkey / Consolidated News Photos (Credit Image: ? Rod Lamkey/CNP via ZUMA Wire)
Around 150 guests were seated, facing towards the Oval office in the newly remodeled Rose Garden. The Rose Garden was recently renovated after 60 years by First Lady Melania Trump. All the guests who were escorted by U.S. Marines on their seats were seen admiring the Rose Garden and exchanging greetings while seated with other guests.
A military band entertained the crowd shortly before the event, including “Hail to the Chief|” when President Trump entered the Rose Garden. Many Republican Senators came in right before the program, including Tilis, Hawley, Fisher and Sasse.
Around 5.04 pm President Trump walked to the podium to announce the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett as Associate Justice to the Supreme Court. He opened his statement with round of applause: “I stand before you today to fulfill one of my highest and most important duties under the United States Constitution: the nomination of a Supreme Court Justice.”
He added that this is his third such nomination after Justice Gorsuch and Justice Kavanaugh and that “it is a very proud moment indeed.” It is his honor to nominate one of the nation’s most brilliant and gifted legal minds to the Supreme Court.
Loud applause was heard when President Trump said: “She is a woman of unparalleled achievement, towering intellect, sterling credentials, and unyielding loyalty to the Constitution: Here she is Judge Amy Coney Barrett.”
President Trump spoke at length about her credentials and her family. Judge Amy Barrett graduated from Notre Dame Law School and later joined the law school faculty. She clerked for Justice Scalia and her decisions reflect his constitutional views. She has served on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago for three years and has a clear conservative record. Once confirmed, the 48 year old would become the youngest justice on the Supreme Court and would likely serve for decades to come.
Trump in between his remarks asked the seated Senators in the Rose Garden for quick and respectful hearings, and then joked with Judge Barrett about the disputes surrounding her nomination.” “It’s going to be extremely non-controversial.” said Trump.
The most notable part of the whole event was President Trump calling the children of Judge Barrett next to him on the podium and acknowledging Amy being a “profoundly devoted mother.”
President Trump said “Amy is more than a stellar scholar and judge; she is also a profoundly devoted mother. Her family is a core part of who Amy is!”
Judge Amy acknowledged her husband Jesse presence in the Rose Garden and cited his support since 21 years to be main pillar of her successful law career. Of Judge Barrett and her husband’s seven children, two were adopted from Haiti. Their youngest son, Benjamin, has Down syndrome – and boasts the title of “favorite sibling” from his brothers and sisters, according to Barrett.
Also among the crowd were present: Bill Barr, Laura Ingraham, Kellyanne Conway, Corey Lewandowski, David Bossie, Matt and Mercedes Schlapp.
After the Barrett nomination event, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows answered reporters about her confirmation stating: “That will be up to the Senators!”
Further, Meadows was pitched in another question about Trump talking a lot about Barrett’s family. Meadows replied “I think, that’s a good thing, don’t you? It speaks volumes as a working mom to be able to be a good role model.” Upon another media question on Barrett confirmation, Meadows initially said “I am not confident,” but then backed up and said: “That would be discussion for the Senators. I would believe that they are going to try to move through the process and review her credentials in an expeditious manner. And if they do that, based on the resume that I have seen, hopefully Barrett would get confirmed before the first of November.”
The nomination will kick off an extraordinary scramble by Senate Republicans to confirm her for the court in 38 days before the election on Nov. 3 a scenario unlike any in American history. While other justices have been approved in presidential election years, none has been voted on after July.
At the end of the event, President Trump walked down the colonnade towards the residence with Judge Amy Barrett, along with her children.
If one reflects upon the life of Justice Ruth Ginsburg, she stood by her husband Martin Ginsburg when he contracted testicular cancer in 1956. She used to speak highly of her husband, similarly Judge Amy Barrett referred to her husband in the Rose Garden “as her pillar for 21 years for raising the children and standing beside her and asking her does she needs anything more?” Nothing could be more perfect, than Barrett leading Ginsburg’s legacy like a star on a sky!Barrett, during her remarks in the Rose Garden said she would “be mindful of who came before me,” she was referring to the legacy of Justice Ruth Ginsburg, as a woman who “not only broke glass ceilings – she smashed them.”
