President Donald Trump nominated Amy Coney Barrett to fill the Supreme Court seat vacated by the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Barrett was appointed to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals by President Trump in 2017 and is considered a reliable conservative jurist on issues including abortion, gun rights, and immigration.
"Judge Barrett was confirmed to the circuit court three years ago by a bipartisan vote. Her qualifications are unsurpassed. Unsurpassed and her record is beyond reproach. This should be a straightforward and prompt confirmation," President Trump said during the Rose Garden announcement.
Last year, she penned the lone dissenting opinion in a case that gave the state of Wisconsin the power to take away gun rights from non-violent felons.
"History is consistent with common sense: it demonstrates that legislatures have the power to prohibit dangerous people from possessing guns," she wrote. "But that power extends only to people who are dangerous. Founding legislatures did not strip felons of the right to bear arms simply because of their status as felons."
In June, Barrett dissented in a case that left intact a U.S. district court decision temporarily blocking the Trump administration from making it harder for immigrants deemed a "public charge" to become citizens.
Barrett also heard a few cases relating to abortion during her time on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. In 2018, she dissented on a case in which the Court denied a rehearing after a three judge panel ruled an Indiana law banning abortions for reasons relating to the sex, race or potential disability of the fetus, as unconstitutional.
Because she is a staunch Catholic, many Democrats are worried that she will be a key vote in overturning Roe v. Wade. Her religious beliefs, and how they will impact her decisions as a Supreme Court Justice are going to be major issue during her confirmation hearings.
If confirmed, Barrett, 48, who clerked for the late Justice Antonin Scalia, would be the youngest justice on the high court.
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