Takeaways From Amy Coney Barrett’s Judiciary Confirmation Hearings

Amy Coney Barrett, President Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court, sat for nearly 20 hours of questioning by 22 members of the Senate Judiciary Committee over two days. At the outset of the process, Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham acknowledged that her confirmation by the panel was all but guaranteed.

“This is probably not about persuading each other unless something really dramatic happens. All Republicans will vote yes and all Democrats will vote no and that will be the way the breakout of the vote,” Graham said. But he added that the hearings give the American people the chance to “find out about Judge Barrett.”

The hearings revealed little about Barrett’s views on major legal issues like health care, abortion rights, voting rights or gun rights. Instead, those watching learned about her overarching approach to the law as an originalist who believes the role of a justice is to adhere to the text of statutes rather than interpret or make policy from the bench. She skillfully parried back and forth with Democrats who were frustrated she wouldn’t be pinned down and kept a cool, calm demeanor — even as many warned that her addition to the court could adversely affect millions of Americans. At one point, Texas GOP Sen. John Cornyn asked her to show what notes she was using to prep for answers and she held up a blank notepad, demonstrating that she was capable of talking for hours on end about a broad range of legal issues without any notes.