Barrett expected to reiterate belief that elected officials, not courts should make policy decisions in opening remarks

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last updated 11 October 2020

President Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, is expected to reaffirm her belief that the high court's role is "to enforce the rule of law" rather than "solve every problem or right every wrong in public life" during her opening remarks, which were obtained by The Associated Press and other publications, for her Senate confirmation hearing this week.

Barrett's expected comments mirror those she made after she received the nomination last month, first focusing on her family and the path she took on her legal career before she got the call from Trump. She also pays homage to former Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg before giving a preview of her judicial philosophy. "The policy decisions and value judgments of government must be made by the political branches elected by and accountable to the people," she is expected to say. "The public should not expect courts to do so, and courts should not try."

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.

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