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President Trump nominated his pick to fill the appeals court vacancy left by Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett. A White House statement on Monday announced that the nomination of Thomas Kirsch II, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Indiana, was sent to the Senate for consideration. "Thomas L. Kirsch II, of Indiana, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Seventh Circuit, vice Amy Coney Barrett, elevated," the statement said. The White House announced that Kirsch, an Indiana University and Harvard Law graduate, was Trump's pick for the vacancy weeks ago, but the notice on Monday now...

During the confirmation hearings for President Trump’s third Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, Democrats repeatedly warned that Barrett would destroy the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. They brought in witnesses to testify about how great Obamacare was. Well, the Supreme Court heard arguments on the Obamacare case on Tuesday, and it seems unlikely the Court will strike down the health care law. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh appeared unwilling to strike down the entire law, although they agreed with the other justices that the now-toothless individual mandate forcing people to purchase health insurance was...

This will be a weekly post. Count is now 220 judges confirmed 2 Trade Court judges 162 District Court judges 53 Circuit Court judges 3 Supreme Court justices We've been waiting for this one! Only one judge confirmed this week. But it was a doozy!! On Monday, Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed by the US Senate to the Supreme Court of the United States! Take a look at the above numbers and picture yourself four years ago, the weekend before the election. The above would be unthinkable, impossible even. But it's real. Leave out the three (yes THREE) Supreme Court...

Since Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed to the Supreme Court, she and the other judges have wasted no time in remaking America in their image. This is what we were warned about. In only two days, 23 landmark cases have been decided by the new conservative Supreme Court. God help us all. United States v. Trump, 6-3 ruling -- Determined that Trump has already won reelection Walsh v. Dweedlestein, 5-4 ruling -- We are to be a theocracy under God United States v. Trump, 5-4 ruling -- Trump is now the Galactic Emperor Of Man Acosta v. Elisha, 9-0 ruling...

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation to the Supreme Court was a “wonderful birthday present” for Hillary Clinton. “It was a wonderful birthday present for Hillary Clinton to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court Monday night on her birthday,” McConnell (R-Ky.) told his supporters on Wednesday. “Oh, I’m sure she was so grateful, so grateful.”

What should we think when every single Democrat voted against the Supreme Court nomination of Amy Coney Barrett? What does this say about their convictions and ideology? There were actually three Democrats who voted to confirm Neil Gorsuch in 2017 (Donnelly, Heitkamp, and Manchin). Even Brett Kavanaugh received one Democratic vote in 2018 (again, Manchin). But when it came to Barrett, not one Democrat voted for her. Not one. This happened despite her receiving a “‘Well Qualified’ rating from the American Bar Association (ABA) whose representatives relayed descriptions of her as ‘brilliant’ and an ‘intellectual giant.’” And this happened despite...

Nothing threatens the progressive project more than the existence of a Supreme Court that adheres to the Constitution. It's really that simple. That's what the tantrum over Justice Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation is all about. The notion that the same Democrats who shelved the judicial filibuster and now threaten to destroy the separation of powers with a revenge scheme to pack the Supreme Court -- the same people, incidentally, so fond of smear-drenched confirmation hearings -- are sticklers for process or decorum is simply ludicrous. For one thing, no norms have been undone by the confirmation of Barrett. If Democrats...

Democrats want to portray the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett as a raw power play that was antithetical to our democracy. Yet, public opinion polls tell us that, had Justice Barrett’s nomination been put to a vote by the American people, she would have been confirmed by a margin comparable to or greater than the one provided by the Senate.The Senate confirmed Barrett by a vote of 52-48. A Gallup poll found that, by a split of 51-46, the public favored confirming her. A Morning Consult poll put the split at 51-28.An earlier survey by Morning Consult, taken shortly...

The Girl Scouts of America deleted a tweet Wednesday congratulating newly sworn-in Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett after the post triggered apparent backlash on social media. The post read, “Congratulations Amy Coney Barrett on becoming the 5th woman appointed to the Supreme Court since its inception in 1789.” It featured a photo of other female justices, including the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg, whose seat Barrett filled, and Sonia Sotomayor. After deleting the post, Girl Scouts tweeted, “Earlier today, we shared a post highlighting the five women who have been appointed to the Supreme Court. It was quickly viewed as...

Accusations fly back and forth between the political parties, each claiming the other is politicizing the United States Supreme Court. However, a brief look at the history of the Supreme Court establishes this is neither new nor novel, and Presidential Nominee Joe Biden’s plan for Supreme Court reforms demonstrates he’s pulled a page right out of history on how to do it. So, here is his playbook.

George Washington University Law School Professor Jonathan Turley wrote in an op-ed in The Hill on Wednesday: Feeling disrespected, Democrats are threatening acts of retaliation in changing the Supreme Court or the Senate. But the most unhinged was the idea to impeach Amy Coney Barrett after she takes her seat. This option was raised by columnist Norman Ornstein, who wrote that if she “immediately votes for voter suppression” after rising to the Supreme Court, “she should quickly be impeached” because President Trump “asked her openly to act to tilt the scales of the election.”

Had Democrats given Trump's judicial nominees due respect and consideration, they could have had more influence over Barrett's nomination process. Judge Amy Coney Barrett is now Justice Amy Coney Barrett, replacing the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court. For invoking the “nuclear option” in the Senate back in 2013 and eliminating the filibuster for non-Supreme Court judges, Harry Reid deserves his round of applause. Reid is not the only Democrat to have worked hard on Barrett’s behalf — indeed, the Democratic Party’s actions during both the Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings played a pivotal role...

CNSNews.com – “Generations yet unborn will suffer the consequences” of Amy Coney Barrett’s elevation to the Supreme Court, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor, shortly before a majority voted on Monday to confirm the pro-life, conservative judge onto the bench. Schumer was not likely thinking of unborn babies in the womb; his next sentence began with an allusion to climate change. But the same sentence also included a reference to abortion, as he lamented what he described as “reactionary state legislatures curtail[ing] a woman’s right to choose.” Now-Justice Barrett said at her swearing-in ceremony on Monday...

Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Wednesday on ABC’s “The View” that Republicans would “regret” confirming Amy Coney Barrett as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Co-host Sunny Hostin said, “Rahm, Amy Coney Barrett is now Justice Barrett having been officially sworn in as the newest Supreme Court justice after what many Democrats are calling an illegitimate process. Minority Leader Schumer is saying Republicans will regret her confirmation. Do you think they will?”

The County Election Board for Luzerne County, Pennsylvania has filed a motion today with the Supreme Court for Justice Barrett to be recused from participating in the case. The basis of the motion is one that has been written and talked about by pundits over the last two weeks — whether President Trump’s nomination of Judge Barrett and public statements of support which mentioned pending election law cases have created a circumstance where a prior decision of the Supreme Court, Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co., which has never been overruled, would find a “due process” violation in the rights...

Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., calling the judicial originalism "racist, sexist, homophobic and a fancy word for discrimination" is “patently irresponsible," said Sen. Mike Lee. The term "originalism" refers to a judicial interpretation of the law based on a literal reading. “Of all the irresponsible and inflammatory statements I’ve heard over the last few weeks, and I’ve heard some doozies, this might well be the worst,” Lee, R-Utah, told “Fox & Friends” on Tuesday. “If you think about what he is really saying there, Sen. Markey has essentially said that our Constitution is racist. And [that] an effort to understand it,...

Amy Coney Barrett was formally sworn in Tuesday as the Supreme Court’s ninth justice, her oath administered by Chief Justice John Roberts. Her first votes on the court could include two big topics affecting the man who appointed her. The court is weighing a plea from President Donald Trump to prevent the Manhattan district attorney from acquiring his tax returns. It is also considering appeals from the Trump campaign and Republicans to shorten the deadline for receiving and counting absentee ballots in the battleground states of North Carolina and Pennsylvania. It’s not certain Barrett will take part in any of...

As of last night’s swearing-in ceremony, Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett (will we ever grow tired of saying that?) is now a member of the nation’s highest court. From the sound of things, however, she’s not going to have much time to celebrate because she has plenty of work ahead of her. A number of closely watched cases with the potential for carrying historical impact are heading her way. Some have been in the pipeline for quite a while, but others involving disputes in next week’s election may arrive on an emergency basis. Predictably, we already have Democrats and...

"Congratulations, Honey!"