President Donald Trump says he has a plan to fill Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s spot in the Supreme Court — a special judge he’s been “saving” for the 86-year-old’s seat.
Should Ginsburg retire (or pass away) before 2020, Trump says he plans to replace her with Judge Amy Barrett.
Barrett is a conservative judicial superstar and has been on the Trump administration’s shortlist for Supreme Court nominees since the 2016 election.
Now, insiders say she’s next in line for the Supreme Court.
“I’m saving her for Ginsburg,” Trump has reportedly told numerous advisors around the time of Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to replace former Justice Anthony Kennedy. Kennedy personally suggested Kavanaugh replace him when he announced his retirement in 2017.
According to Axios, Barrett is the favorite of Trump for three key reasons:
She’s young and proudly embraces her Catholic faith.
Her past academic writings suggest an openness to overturning Roe v. Wade.
Her nomination would throw gas on the culture-war fires, which Trump relishes.
Of course, there’s no guarantee that Ginsburg retires before the 2020 presidential election. Should Trump win re-election, though, it’s conceivable that Barrett is a lock for the next open spot on the high court.
Insiders have also noted that Ginsburg’s health remains a concern in Washington, D.C. The liberal justice missed almost three weeks of work while recovering from cancer surgery in January, which was discovered by doctors after Ginsburg broke three ribs in a fall in November.
Should the unthinkable happen, Barrett is on-deck.