Wednesday, September 30, 2020

Statement from President Donald J. Trump on the Passing of His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Amir of the State of Kuwait

 

Office of the Press Secretary

Statement from President Donald J. Trump on the Passing of His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Amir of the State of Kuwait
 

I am deeply saddened by the passing of my dear friend, His Highness the Amir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.  Melania and I send our sincere condolences to the people of Kuwait.  Sheikh Sabah was an unwavering friend and partner to the United States.  Earlier this month, I had the honor of awarding him the prestigious Legion of Merit, Degree Chief Commander.

The Amir was an unparalleled diplomat, having served as Foreign Minister for 40 years.  His tireless mediation of disputes in the Middle East bridged divides under the most challenging circumstances.  I hope that the Gulf nations will come together to honor his legacy and work toward the cooperative future he envisioned.
 

1600 Daily The White House • September 29, 2020 President Trump announces massive Coronavirus testing expansion

 

1600 Daily
The White House • September 29, 2020

President Trump announces massive Coronavirus testing expansion


America has already conducted far more Coronavirus tests than any other nation on Earth—more than the entire European Union and more than all of Latin America combined.
 
Now, President Trump has announced that his Administration will distribute 150 million rapid, point-of-care Coronavirus tests in the coming weeks. This action will more than double the total number of tests already performed in the United States.
 
🎬 WATCH: President Trump announces massive testing expansion
 
Fifty million tests will go to protect the most vulnerable communities, which we’ve always promised to do, including 18 million for nursing homes; 15 million for assisted living facilities; 10 million for home, health, and . . . hospice care agencies; and nearly 1 million for historically black colleges and universities,” the President said.
 
Another 100 million rapid tests will be given to states and territories to support efforts to reopen their economies and schools as quickly and safely as possible.
 
“We are now at an inflection point in testing,” President Trump said. The United States now has the capacity to run, on average, 3 million tests per day. That number doesn’t include “pooled testing,” which could multiply that figure several times.
 
Vice President Pence said he believes an announcement about a Coronavirus vaccine will come soon after yesterday’s historic milestone.
 
“It’s a testament to great companies like Abbott Laboratories and the thousands of employees who, Mr. President, I know have literally worked around the clock since those early days in this pandemic, when you brought in the greatest research companies in America,” the Vice President added.
 
🎬 Mississippi Governor: “This is a game-changer.”
 
🎬 WATCH: President Trump’s full Rose Garden announcement

Trump Administration leads effort to correct headstone of first woman ever to vote in America

 

Today, National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien accompanied White House staff and a delegation from Utah to pay respects at the gravesite of Seraph Young Ford.

On February 14, 1870, after the Utah Territory extended voting rights to women, Ford became the first female to cast a ballot in an American election.

Ford was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, and for years, the name on her headstone remained spelled incorrectly. Working with Arlington National Cemetery officials, the Trump Administration corrected her headstone this year—coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment, which guaranteed women’s suffrage.

“The determination and spirit of the leaders of the women’s suffrage movement continues to inspire the fight for greater rights for all,” O’Brien’s statement reads.

Read the full statement from National Security Advisor O’Brien.

Photo of the Day

President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence give remarks during an update on the nation’s Coronavirus testing strategy | September 28, 2020

Presidential Permit

 

Office of the Press Secretary
PRESIDENTIAL PERMIT
 
AUTHORIZING THE ALASKA TO ALBERTA RAILWAY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION TO CONSTRUCT, CONNECT, OPERATE, AND MAINTAIN RAILWAY FACILITIES AT THE INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA
 
 
     By virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States of America, I hereby grant this Presidential permit, subject to the conditions herein set forth, to the Alaska to Alberta Railway Development Corporation (the "permittee").  The permittee is a private corporation organized under the laws of the Government of Alberta, Canada, and registered in the State of Alaska.  Permission is hereby granted to the permittee to construct, connect, operate, and maintain certain railway Border facilities, as described herein, at the international border of the United States and Canada at Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska, in the Ladue River Valley at 63°15'N and 141°W, approximately 45 miles due north over land from the Alcan Border Crossing on Alaska Route 2 (also known as the Alaska Highway) and approximately 60 miles due east over land from the town of Tok, Alaska.
 
     This permit does not affect the applicability of any otherwise relevant laws and regulations.  As confirmed in Article 2 below, the Border facilities shall remain subject to all such laws and regulations.
 
     The term "Facilities," as used in this permit, means the portion in the United States of the "Alaska to Alberta Railway" project associated with the permittee's application for a Presidential permit filed on September 6, 2019, and any land, structures, installations, or equipment appurtenant thereto.
 
     The term "Border facilities," as used in this permit, means those parts of the Facilities extending 1.0 miles from the international border between the United States and Canada, and any land, structures, installations, or equipment appurtenant thereto.
 
     This permit is subject to the following conditions:
 
     Article 1.  The Border facilities herein described, and all aspects of their operation, shall be subject to all the conditions, provisions, and requirements of this permit and any subsequent Presidential amendment to it.  This permit may be terminated, revoked, or amended at any time at the sole discretion of the President of the United States (the "President"), with or without advice provided by any executive department or agency (agency).  The permittee shall make no substantial change in the Border facilities, in the location of the Border facilities, or in the operation authorized by this permit unless the President has approved the change in an amendment to this permit or in a new permit.
 
     Article 2.  The standards for, and the manner of, construction, connection, operation, and maintenance of the Border facilities shall be subject to inspection by the representatives of appropriate Federal, State, and local agencies.  Officers and employees of such agencies who are duly authorized and performing their official duties shall be granted free and unrestricted access to said Border facilities by the permittee.  The Border facilities, including the construction, connection, operation, and maintenance of the Border facilities, shall be subject to all applicable laws and regulations, including laws and regulations governing railway safety or issued or administered by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
 
     Article 3.  Upon the termination, revocation, or surrender of this permit, unless otherwise decided by the President, the permittee, at its own expense, shall remove the Border facilities within such time as the President may specify.  If the permittee fails to comply with an order to remove, or to take such other appropriate action with respect to, the Border facilities, the President may direct an appropriate official or agency to take possession of the Border facilities -- or to remove the Border facilities or take other action -- at the expense of the permittee.  The permittee shall have no claim for damages caused by any such possession, removal, or other action.
 
     Article 4.  When, in the judgment of the President, ensuring the national security of the United States requires entering upon and taking possession of any of the Border facilities or parts thereof, and retaining possession, management, or control thereof for such a length of time as the President may deem necessary, the United States shall have the right to do so, provided that the President or his designee has given due notice to the permittee.  The United States shall also have the right thereafter to restore possession and control to the permittee.  In the event that the United States exercises the rights described in this article, it shall pay to the permittee just and fair compensation for the use of such Border facilities, upon the basis of a reasonable profit in normal conditions, and shall bear the cost of restoring the Border facilities to their previous condition, less the reasonable value of any improvements that may have been made by the United States.
 
     Article 5.  Any transfer of ownership or control of the Border facilities, or any part thereof, or any changes to the name of the permittee, shall be immediately communicated in writing to the President or his designee, and shall include information identifying any transferee.  Notwithstanding any such transfers or changes, this permit shall remain in force subject to all of its conditions, permissions, and requirements, and any amendments thereto, unless subsequently terminated, revoked, or amended by the President.
 
     Article 6.  (1)  The permittee is responsible for acquiring any right-of-way grants or easements, permits, and other authorizations as may become necessary or appropriate.
 
     (2)  The permittee shall hold harmless and indemnify the United States from any claimed or adjudged liability arising out of construction, connection, operation, or maintenance of the Border facilities, including environmental contamination from the release, threatened release, or discharge of hazardous substances or hazardous waste.
 
     (3)  To ensure the safe operation of the Border facilities, the permittee shall maintain them and every part of them in a condition of good repair and in compliance with applicable law.
 
     Article 7.  To the extent authorized by law, the permittee shall provide to U.S. Customs and Border Protection and any other relevant United States Government agencies, at no cost to the United States, suitable inspection facilities, at a mutually agreed upon site, for officers and employees of such agencies to perform their duties.  The provision of such facilities shall include, to the extent deemed necessary by such agencies, the transfer of title to any such facilities (including the site) to the United States.  The inspection facilities shall meet the latest agency design standards and any operational requirements, including facilities for the Rail-Vehicle and Cargo Inspection Systems, inspection and office space, personnel parking and restrooms, utilities, and an access road.  To the extent authorized by law, the permittee shall be responsible for any ongoing maintenance or necessary improvements to the inspection facilities, including to comply with updated agency design standards, and for the full cost of providing services at such facilities.
 
     Article 8.  The permittee shall file with the President or his designee, and with appropriate agencies, such sworn statements or reports with respect to the Border facilities, or the permittee's activities and operations in connection therewith, as are now, or may hereafter, be required under any law or regulation of the United States Government or its agencies.  These reporting obligations do not alter the intent that this permit be operative as a directive issued by the President alone.
 
     Article 9.  Upon request, the permittee shall provide appropriate information to the President or his designee with regard to the Border facilities.  Such requests could include, for example, information concerning current conditions or anticipated changes in ownership or control, construction, connection, operation, or maintenance of the Border facilities.
 
     Article 10.  The permittee shall provide written notice to the President or his designee at the time that the construction authorized by this permit begins, at such time as such construction is completed, interrupted, or discontinued, and at other times as may be requested by the President.
 
     Article 11.  The permittee shall provide written notice to the President or his designee describing any material investment in the Facilities, direct or indirect, by non-Canadian foreign investors of any kind, including individuals, corporations or other non-governmental entities, and governmental entities.  Such written notice shall be provided at such time as an agreement for any such investment is entered into, or 30 days before any such investment is made, whichever is earlier, and at other times as may be requested by the President.
 
     Article 12.  This permit shall expire 10 years from the date of its issuance if the permittee has not commenced construction of the Border facilities by that date.
 
     Article 13.  This permit is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees or agents, or any other person.
 
     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, have hereunto set my hand this twenty‑eighth day of September, 2020, in the City of Washington, District of Columbia.
 
 
                              DONALD J. TRUMP

Tuesday, September 29, 2020

ONE [Yuge] NOMINATION SENT TO THE SENATE

 

Office of the Press Secretary

NOMINATION SENT TO THE SENATE:

     Amy Coney Barrett, of Indiana, to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, vice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, deceased.

Monday, September 28, 2020

September 27, 2020 - REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP IN PRESS BRIEFING James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

 

Office of the Press Secretary
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP
IN PRESS BRIEFING
 
James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
 
 
5:32 P.M. EDT
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Does anybody know these two gentlemen in the room?  If you don’t, let us know.  You shouldn’t be here if you don’t.  It’s great to have you guys.
 
       Yesterday, I was very proud to nominate Judge Amy Coney
Barrett to the United States Supreme Court.  She is one of our nation's most brilliant legal minds, and I think she'll do very well.  We're moving along very quickly.  Tremendous unity in the Republican Party.  It's the consequence of winning elections, which we did very substantially, both in the Senate and obviously in the White House.  And I think we're going to take back the House; I believe that very strongly.  Kevin is doing a fantastic job.  And I really believe we're going to take back the House, and we're all working very hard on that.
 
     We have noticed some comments made in the media about my incredibly qualified nominee, Amy.  The New York Times said her religion is not consistent with American values.  She's Catholic.  That covers a lot of people.  That's a very disgraceful thing to say. 
 
     Some of the comedians -- I don’t think they’re comedians because comedians are supposed to be funny; they’re not funny, like, at all.  They’re nasty.  They’re mean.  And they think they’re funny.  And someday -- hopefully, it's in five years -- but someday, when I'm not here, they're going to be off television because their ratings, which aren't very good anyway, but their ratings are going to go down like you've never seen before.  That includes a lot of others also. 
 
     In fact, I'm sort of waiting for the New York Times and the Washington Post, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSDNC -- I'm waiting for them to endorse me, because if they don't, they're going to drop with a thud like -- you know, it was supposed to have happened long ago, and then we won a race, and it was a great -- it was a great victory. 
 
     And our -- I think we’ve never had a more energized base.  I don’t think so.  Nobody has ever seen anything like it.  The rallies that we're having are incredible; we call them “protests.”  They’re friendly protests.  We don't want to call them “rallies,” but the friendly protest rallies are -- have been incredible.  People -- I don't think anybody has ever seen anything like it.  And this is still long before an election.  This isn't like the evening before.  These are long before an election.
 
     The -- the incredible crowd we had in Pennsylvania and Virginia -- in every state, no matter where -- in North Carolina, Florida -- no matter where we go, we're having crowds like nobody -- I don't think anybody has ever gotten before ever.  Not even close.
 
     There's a level of enthusiasm -- in Iowa today, with the tractors -- thousands of tractors.  In different states, the boats.  You know, thousands and thousands of boats.  Boaters for Trump, Tractors for Trump, Farmers for Trump -- it's really been very nice to see the level of enthusiasm.
 
     I thought, though -- on the religious situation with Amy, I thought we settled this 60 years ago with the election of John F. Kennedy.  But seriously, they're going after her Catholicism.  I will stand with her, fight with her, and we will make sure that these attacks stop because they really -- it's unprecedented.  They’re basically fighting a major religion in our country.  This is incredible.  Fighting any religion and fighting Catholicism is just incredible that they can be doing it.  Are you Catholic, Rudy? 
 
     Twenty-nine Supreme Court vacancies have occurred during an election year or before an inauguration.  In every single instance, going back to George Washington, the President has performed his constitutional duty and nominated a justice.  And in almost every one of these cases over the past 230 years where the President and the Senate were the same party, the justice -- as you know, that justice was confirmed.
 
     This is about two centuries -- more than two centuries of precedent.  And I think it'll continue.  I think we're going to have -- I think it's going to go quickly, actually.  And I think --
 
     And again, I don't know if I've ever seen the Republican Party more unified.  I think it was probably even more unified with the impeachment hoax, actually.  When they did the impeachment hoax, I think that was -- which really turned out to be a hoax, because now you look at what's happening with the FBI and Justice Department; if you look at all of those text messages, emails that were sent, it -- we have been totally proven right.  They spied on our campaign, and everybody knew it.  Biden knew it; Obama knew it.  Everybody knew it.  And the lamestream media just, you know, doesn't want to pick it up, although some have.  I will say, Catherine Herridge at CBS has done a fantastic job on it.  We appreciate that.
 
     But this is a major scandal.  This is a scandal, the likes of which nobody has ever seen.  This is actually the biggest political scandal in the history of our country.  And with the exception of a few, I mean, they just don't want to write about it.  You should read about that, Kelly, you know.  You should write about it.  You should write about it.  You should do something on CNN about it, because it's the biggest single scandal of our time; certainly the biggest political scandal, perhaps, in history.
 
     They -- they spied on our campaign, and then they tried for a coup.  That didn't work out too well.  And it turned out that, if you read the -- you read the texts that came out over the last three days, it turned out that they were really -- it was reversed; it was the DNC and the Democrats that were using Russia.  And related or unrelated, Hunter Biden got three and a half million dollars from the wife of the mayor of Moscow.  Why did he get three and a half million dollars?  And then he got millions more than we thought from Ukraine, and he got millions more than we heard about from China.  Hunter Biden -- “Where’s Hunter?”
 
     So these are all questions that are very, very big on the Internet.  The biggest thing going on the Internet is exactly this.  And we're going to have to see how that all turns out, but it turned out that we were right.  So we went through two and a half years of ruining people's lives, like General Flynn and many others -- ruining their lives.  And it turned out to be just the opposite.  It was the Democrats that were dealing with Russia and other things.
 
     So hopefully, our Attorney General and others working on this very, very hard, very diligently, will -- it'll lead to something that will be very important for our nation.  I think it's very important for our nation.  It’s one of the most important things.
 
     A central issue of the 2018 midterm elections was the Kavanaugh confirmation.  And American voters punished the Democrats in the Senate.  You so what happened; we picked up two seats.  Again, something that hasn't been reported on very much.  But we picked up two seats for their treatment of Justice Kavanaugh and expanded our Senate majority to confirm Supreme Court justices, which was great.
 
     And now Democrats are really brazenly attacking Judge Barrett for, again, her faith, mostly, is what I'm hearing -- for her Catholic faith.  And whether it's C or anybody else, I think they ought to treat religion with much more respect.  I think it's a disgrace that they can do it. 
 
     Biden and the Democrats are desperate to distract from the real issues, which is that their party has been taken over by socialists, extremists, and probably communists.  I think it's beyond socialism; I think it's a step beyond, and could be many steps beyond, if you take a look.
 
     And if they win, they will nominate justices who will destroy the American way of life, the American Dream.  They will destroy the American Dream.  They'll destroy America.  They’ll destroy the United States of America.  Your private right to own a firearm will be totally eliminated, your guns will be confiscated, your ability to live by your religious faith will be devastated.  They'll abolish America's borders and give government healthcare to illegal aliens, which will destroy our healthcare system because so many people will pour into our country.  That's a tremendous incentive.
 
     On voter fraud, as you know, hopefully there won’t be a very big movement because hopefully we're going to be able to win.  I think we have the massive movement.  I think we're going to have a tremendous, tremendous victory.  There won't be a transition because I can't imagine we call a transition if we win.  You know, they talk about, “Will there be a friendly transition?”  Of course, there will, but we have a big problem, and you see it every day; you see it happening every day with ballots.
 
     We are gravely concerned about the Democrat assault on election integrity.  In Brooklyn, 25 percent of mail-in ballots were ruled invalid in June's Democrat primary.  You saw that. In a special election in New Jersey, 20 percent of the ballots were thrown out, and four people are now being prosecuted for fraud.  This is all in the mail-ballots. 
 
     Thirty-five thousand mail-in ballots were rejected in Florida’s primary, and one hundred thousand were rejected in California, and that's just the beginning.
 
     A week after Pennsylvania's primary, half of the counties were still counting ballots, and you'll be counting them here because this is a much bigger version of all of that.  Just last week, a number of discarded military ballots were discovered in Pennsylvania.  All of the recovered ballots -- these were ballots that were thrown out -- had been cast for a person named Donald J. Trump.
 
     In Wisconsin, three trays of mail containing absentee ballots were found in a ditch; they were thrown in a ditch.  Three trays.  That's a lot.
 
     In North Carolina, voters are reporting receiving two ballots in the mail.  Many -- many voters.  I hear it’s thousands, but they’re getting two ballots.  I wonder if those are Democrat areas, because the word is they are.
 
     In Iowa caucus’s last winter, you know what happened there.  You all reported on it, I think, very well.  Right?  Do you remember that one?  It was not good, right?  But in Iowa, they still don't really know who the winner was.  I think they called somebody eventually, but it was many, many weeks later.  But they really have no idea, and that's being -- continues to be -- and that’s little; that’s just a small -- it continues to be litigated in Iowa.  They can't run a simple caucus, yet now they're trying to radically write election laws nationwide, just weeks before the presidential election.
 
     I heard in New York today that Governor Cuomo wants to try and simplify the ballots because he thinks they're too complicated.  And all of that, I agree with him.  I think that's good.  But you don’t do that now.  The ballots are starting to come in.  And, you know, you can’t do it now.  It’s too late.
 
     Joe Biden and the Democrat extremists oppose all of these efforts to ensure election integrity.  They oppose voter ID.  Think of it: Voter ID.  They want a picture.  They have a picture for almost everything nowadays, but they don’t want a picture.  You had a picture to get into the Democrat National Convention.  You had a card with your picture on it.  Did you know that, fellas?  You have a -- to get into the Democratic National Convention, you have a card and your picture is on it, but they don’t want it for voting, which is our very sacred right.
 
     They want -- we want proof of citizenship, a Social Security number requirement.  They don't want any of this to happen.  And they want no signature verification.  They don’t want to have a verified signature.
 
     So they want none of the safety valves that you would have.  Think of it: They opposed voter ID.  They approve proof of -- they oppose proof of citizenship.  They oppose a Social Security number and requirements for Social Security numbers as a safety valve.  And they oppose even simple signature verifications.  They don’t want to have signature verification.
 
     They want to require all states to do mail-in balloting, right?  I call it “unsolicited.”  Some people call it “universal.”  I think “universal” doesn’t make sense because nobody understands why universal.  So it’s “unsolicited.”  They want unsolicited mail-in ballots.  In other words, you send these ballots to whoever you can think of.
 
     We had a case, I guess in New Jersey, you were reading to me, where somebody was sent two ballots, and they had slightly -- one was -- had a hyphen in it, the name, and the other one had a “K.”  And they got two names.  So I wonder if that person was a Democrat.  Probably was.
 
     And mailing of millions of ballots to people who never asked for them.  So millions of people are going to be getting ballots who never asked for the ballots.  They don't want the ballots, or maybe they want them; maybe they don't.  Nobody knows, really.  This is really a recipe for chaos.  And when you look at what happened in Iowa -- and again, that was run by very smart people.  It was a very limited election.  It was very small numbers we're talking about.  We’re talking about doing that for the entire nation.
 
     And you can forget about November 3rd, because you're going to be counting these things forever.  And it's very dangerous for our country. 
 
     So, certainly, a transition -- we all believe in transition.  We believe not only in transition, but a very friendly.  But when the ballots and when the system is rigged, which it is; obviously it is.  And the only one that knows that better than me are the Democrats.  And they go into closed rooms and they must laugh like hell at what’s going on, because these ballots are being found.  And this is the beginning.  I talk about it now at the rallies.  All these people are watching.  Eyes and ears.  Thousands and thousands.  Tens of thousands.
 
     But there's no justification for these extreme changes to the election law.  And if you can go to the grocery store, you can have an ID with your picture on it to vote.  It’s so important.  I mean, it's just so important.
 
     So a lot of things are going on.  Very importantly, though -- I think very, very importantly is when you -- when you do your reporting, I think you ought to report on the FBI scandal because it's one of the great scandals in the history of our country.  And I think people want to hear about it.  If you look at the Internet, you'll see how people want to hear about it.  And they will know about it, and it just makes the media look so bad.  And there's so much reporting -- I could go into it right now, but I’m not going to do that. 
 
     But it would be a tremendous thing for the mainstream medium -- media to really start reporting.  I think your ratings we go through the roof; I really do -- because people really are tired of this fake stuff where you don't even talk about it.  And the biggest scandal -- certainly the biggest political scandal in the history of our country, by far; bigger than Watergate.  Much bigger than Watergate.  And they try and avoid it as much as possible.  It's getting very hard to avoid.
 
     So we'll take a couple of questions, and you may have a question for these two very wonderful people, brilliant people, from the standpoint of politics, I would say, and law.  And if you have anything for Kayleigh, we'd love to do that.
 
     Go ahead, please.  Phil?
 
     Q    Thank you, sir.  Last Wednesday, when you were speaking to the attorney generals, you said that you hoped federal judges were watching what was going on with mail-in ballots.
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.
 
     Q    Do you hope that Amy Coney Barrett is watching as well?
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  I do.  I’m sure she is.  I think everybody is.  I think everyone in the country.  I think we've made it a very big issue, and it's an issue that the Democrats are trying to get away with.  I don't think they're getting away.  I mean, so many reports now of phony ballots -- you know, that I don't know if it would have been reported before. 
 
     But all of these rallies -- you know, we had thousands of people last night, as you know.  And we were in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.  The night before, we were in Virginia.  I mean, those crowds are -- whether it was 35,000 or 30,000, those crowds are massive.  And that's on very short notice.  All of those people are watching.  You know, we have eyes and ears now that we wouldn't have had if we didn't bring it up. 
 
     So, no, I'm sure she's watching, and I'm sure that everybody is looking at it.  I think -- I think it's just common sense.  
 
     Go ahead.
 
     Q    A quick follow-up.  Did you discuss the election with her?
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  No, I didn’t.  I didn’t.
 
     Q    And then just one --
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  I just didn’t think it would be appropriate.  And I've watched over the years as Presidents would interview and talk and make a decision on a Supreme Court justice, and I was actually surprised they wouldn't talk about various things, like Roe; they wouldn't talk about, you know, things that are very important.  They think it's inappropriate to talk about them.  I don't know that it's inappropriate, but I've gone by that custom.
 
     Go ahead, Phil.
 
     Q    Thank you, sir.  Democrats are arguing that ACB puts in danger not only Roe v. Wade but a number of other decisions.  Do you think that they are correct?
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  No, I don’t know.  I mean, you know, we (inaudible).  I think she’s going to rule on the law.  I think she’s going to -- I think she’s going to be a great justice for many years to come. 
 
     But I can say they also bring up healthcare.  I mean, Obamacare is terrible.  It doesn't work.  We've made the best of it.  We got rid of the individual mandate, which is great.  We protect people with -- we are going to protect people with preexisting conditions, 100 percent.  But if we can end Obamacare and come up with a much better healthcare system that's much cheaper -- much cheaper and much better, which is what we'll do.  On the other hand, if the Court rules against, we will manage the system better.
 
     But don't forget, we've already essentially gotten rid of Obamacare because we got rid of the individual mandate, and it was all based on that.  So we've done a tremendous amount because the individual mandate was the most unpopular aspect of Obamacare.  You had to pay a lot of money for the privilege of -- for the privilege of not paying for bad healthcare.  So that was a terrible thing for people.
 
     And what we will do is, if we are fortunate enough to get rid of the little remaining in Obamacare -- and again, individual mandate, the way I view it, that’s no longer Obamacare, because that was the central point, and we won that; we’ve already won that, as you know.  But by getting rid of that, it's different.  It's a much different thing.
 
     The other thing we've done is managed -- here’s the story: It’s no good.  It’s too expensive.  It’s bad coverage.  You don’t get your doctor.  You don’t get your plan.  All the things that President Obama said, you don’t get.  And Biden, too, by the way, if Biden even -- I don’t think he has any understanding of it.
 
     But you don't get your doctor.  You don't get your plan.  Twenty-eight times, President Obama said, “You get your doctor.  You get your plan.”  It turned out to be a lie.
 
     So here's what we’re doing: If we can terminate, we are going to have a much better plan, and you will have your doctor, you will have your plan.  You’ll have a lot of things that you don’t get with Obamacare.
 
     Q    And then, really quickly, sir: Do you -- you’ve said this numerous times, but do you really believe that Joe Biden will be on any type of performance-enhancing drug ahead of the debates?  Or are you just joking?
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  No, I’m not joking.  I mean, I’m willing to take a drug test.  I think he should too, because he's had a very uneven -- I watched him with some of the -- when he was with -- you know, debating Pocahontas and Harris, who treated him so badly.  But I watched him, and he was out of it.  Right?
 
     And then, I watched him against Bernie Sanders, and he was okay.  I mean, he wasn't great, but he wasn't terrible.  He was okay.  A far cry from the way he -- you know what I'm saying.  I mean, if you look at some of those debates, I said, “There's no way he can continue.  He can't continue.”
 
     Then, all of the sudden, he debated Crazy Bernie Sanders.  And you know what?  The truth is he was -- he was okay.  And I said, “How did he go from there, with those horrible performances, to where he was okay?”  And I always joke, but, you know, it is true: He was no Winston Churchill in debating, but he was fine.
 
     And people say he was on performance-enhancing drugs.  A lot of people have said that.  A lot of people have written that.
 
     Q    Who has said that aside from you, sir?
 
     Q    Who has said that, sir?
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  So -- so, take a look at it.  Take a look.  Why don't you just check it?  You can check out the Internet.  You’ll see.  Plenty of people say it.
 
     And whether he is or not, it doesn’t matter, but I would love to take a test and he can take a test, too.
 
     Go ahead, please.
 
     Q    Yeah, so we’ll start with debate.  Obviously, it is coming up.  How are you preparing?  Is somebody playing Joe Biden in the debate with you?  Are you doing debate prep at all?
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah, we are.  We’re doing it.  These two gentlemen have been helping.  And Kayleigh is there.  We have --
 
     Q    But who plays Biden?  Who plays Biden for you?  I mean, who --
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  I would say maybe a combination of these two.  And either one of them is about five times smarter than Sleepy Joe. 
 
     But we had a little debate prep before we came here.  I think this whole thing, though, is debate prep.  You know, what I do is debate prep every day.  I'm taking questions from you people all the time.  I mean, I've taken a lot of questions from you over the last number of years, and he doesn’t. 
 
     I watched the way he was treated on MSDNC -- on Friday, I guess, he did it live -- and it was disgraceful.  It was an embarrassment.  I know her, and she's a pretty tough reporter.  The way she was helping him along with those -- it was so obvious what was going on.  She was helping him.  She was giving him a question and then helping him to answer the question.
 
     I know her very well.  She doesn't do that.  It was embarrassing, and people don't talk about it.  I mean, play some of those clips.  Play some of those answers, those -- the answers that -- where he wasn’t able to give an answer, and she’s pushing him; she’s pushing him. 
 
     They never do that with me, I can tell you.  But I don't have the kind of problems he has.  So --
 
     Q    How many hours -- how many hours would you say you’ve spent on debate prep?  I mean, is it --
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I don’t know.  I mean, a little time.  I mean, not a lot.
 
     Q    Is it more or less than 16 hours?
 
     THE PRESIDENT:   I’m -- I’m running a country.  I’m -- I don’t know -- you know, I don’t have the luxury.  I watched other people over the years.  I watched one, sort of, fairly recently -- not too long ago -- go into a cabin, lock himself into a cabin, and he came out and he wasn’t very effective.  You know, he had so much -- so many things going on.  Sometimes, you can go too much in that stuff, you know.  Sometimes you can go too much.
 
     I mean, look, I've had -- I'd never debated before, but then I debated a lot four years ago.  And if you look at the polls -- those polls that come out -- hundreds of thousands of people in Time Magazine and all of the different polls; I think there's about seven or eight of them -- according to those polls, I won every debate -- every single debate, in the primaries and then when I debated Crooked Hillary.  I won every debate.
 
     I mean, this isn't me saying -- I felt I did -- but this isn’t me saying it; this is the polls.  You had a Time Magazine poll.  You had this, that.  And I guess they take them off the Internet or they get phone calls or something.  But according to that, I won every debate, and I felt I did.  But I understand the subject.
 
     Now, Chris is tough.  I hope that Chris is going to be equally tough on Joe Biden.  But I watched the young lady, who I won’t -- I won’t say her name, but it was embarrassing the way she was getting him along.
 
     So I just asked the question about drugs.  I think it’s something that would be appropriate because you can’t have a President that needs that kind of help. 
 
     If you do -- if you do have a President that needs that kind of help, when you’ve got to deal with Putin, and you’ve got to deal with President Xi of China, and you have to deal with Kim Jong Un -- and, by the way, do you notice there’s no war with North Korea?  Which everyone thought we’d be in in about one week after I came to be President.  They thought it was going to happen immediately.  No war.  And that’s saving, perhaps, millions of lives, not just -- you know, they were saying, “Oh, 50,000 people.”  No, millions and millions of people could have died.
 
     Q    Chris will definitely ask tough questions.  And one of the ones that’s going to -- likely everybody is going to be talking about is there’s a New York Times story that came out about an hour ago that says that, when you came to the White House, you were paying about $750 a year in federal income tax.
 
     They are not releasing what -- they’re not publishing the tax returns.  They’re not showing that out there.  They’re saying -- to protect their sources.  In your tax returns, sir, does that sound right, that you were paying a couple hundred dollars a year in federal income taxes?
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  No.  No.  It’s fake news.  It’s totally fake news.  Made up.  Fake.  We went through the same stories.  You could have asked me the same questions four years ago.  I had to litigate this and talk about it.  Totally fake news.  No.
 
     Actually, I paid tax, but -- and you’ll see that as soon as my tax returns -- it’s under audit.  They’ve been under audit for a long time.  The IRS does not treat me well.  They treat me like the Tea Party -- like they treated the Tea Party.  And they don’t treat me well.  They treat me very badly.
 
     You have people in the IRS -- they’re very -- they treat me very, very badly.  But they’re under audit.  And when they’re not, I would be proud to show you.  But that’s just fake news.  The New York Times tried it -- the same thing.  They want to create a little bit of a story, a little bit of -- they’re doing anything they can.
 
     Not only -- that’s the least of it.  I mean, the stories that I read are so fake.  They’re so phony.
 
     Q    Did they tell you this was going to come out today?
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  No, I didn’t know anything about it.  I don’t know anything about it.  I think somebody said they were going to do a negative -- they always do -- they only do negative stories.
 
     I don’t think, in the last -- I used to get good stories in the New York Times.  When I ran for office -- and I happened to be conservative Republican -- I don’t think we’ve had a good story.  They predicted my loss four years ago.  They then apologized for their bad reporting.  Then they predicted the FBI and all of these things.  That’s now proven to be a hoax -- a complete hoax. 
 
     They got Pulitzer Prizes, along with the Washington Post.  They should give all those Pulitzer Prizes back because everything was wrong.  I mean, it was so bad.  Their reporting was so bad.  They were wrong.  It was exactly the opposite.
 
     Now, there are people that should get Pulitzer Prizes:  Solomon, Carter.  I mean, they’re not in the business of Pulitzer prizes, but Sean Hannity got it right.  Lou Dobbs got it right.  Laura got it right.  Many people got -- Tucker got it right.  There were many people that got it right.  I don't know what they get, other than a great salary and great ratings.  I mean, I don't know what they get.
 
     Please, go ahead.
 
     Q    (Inaudible) tax in 2016 --
 
     Q    Thank you, sir.  Thank you, sir.  On --
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Jordan, go ahead.
 
     Q    Yes, thank you.  On the New York Times story, though, you have to understand that when Americans read that you may have paid only a few hundred dollars in federal income tax per year, that seems very low for someone who’s a billionaire.
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Well, you have to under- --
 
     Q    So how much -- I mean, can you --
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Well, basically, they’re saying I paid nothing.
 
     Q    Right.  But can you give people an idea of how much you actually are paying?
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah, basically -- well, first of all, I’ve paid a lot, and I paid a lot of state income taxes, too.  The New York State charges a lot, and I paid a lot of money in state.
 
     It’ll all be revealed.  It’s going to come out.  But --
 
     Q    When?
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  After the audit is -- after the -- I’m being -- they’re doing their assessment.  We’ve been negotiating for a long time.  Things get settled, like in the IRS.  But right now, when you’re under audit, you don’t do it.  You don’t do that.
 
     So we’re under audit.  But the story is a total fake.  And all of their stories -- this one -- you know, we had the same exact questions, usually asked by the same people, and that took place four years ago, you remember.  This was so well litigated.  It’s incredible.
    
     If you look at the filings I have -- I think I have 108 pages of filings for all these different companies that do very well, obviously, because the filings -- and nobody talks about that.  You’ll learn much more if you look at those filings.  And we have to file every single year.
 
     But you’ll learn much more if you look at those filings.  Those filings are very complete.  They’re very big.  They’re very powerful.  They’re very accurate.  And those are the filings that you’ll learn much more and when it’s done.
 
     But when you’re under audit, you just don’t release them.  And, again, they treat me --
 
     Q    Well, sir, you can tell us what your federal tax was.
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  They treat me -- they treat me very --
 
     Q    Mr. President, you can tell us what you paid in federal taxes, sir.
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  I didn’t call on you.  I’m talking to him.  You should be more respectful of this gentleman.  You’re very rude to him.
 
     But I will tell you that I look forward to releasing that.  I look forward to releasing many things.  I'm going to release many things, and people will be really shocked.  But the New York Times has been doing -- it's fake story after fake story.  I've never seen anything like it.
 
     And people understand it, and people -- that's why the -- the media has such a low approval rating now because of what they've done.  It's really a shame.
 
     Yeah, go in the back.
 
     Q    Thank you, Mr. President.  Two questions.  First --
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  If you have any questions for these two gentlemen --
 
     Q    Well, that’s what I was going to ask.
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Good.
 
     Q    Both you and Governor Christie and Mayor Giuliani -- your two guests are practicing Catholics.  You’ve talked about possible bias against Judge Barrett’s religion.  Only two Catholic bishops have come out to say the same thing you have.  Is any effort being made by any of you to, say, get the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops --
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  I think that --
 
     Q    -- involved --
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.
 
     Q    -- or at least other leaders within the Church?
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  We’re in the process of doing that.  I think it's horrible what they're doing.  I mean, they're playing the religious card.  And it's frankly -- you're talking about Catholics.  That's a very major religion in our country.
 
     I don't know -- Chris, do you have anything to say about it?
 
     MR. CHRISTIE:  I think it's obvious what they're doing.  So, you know, she’ll be strong, she’ll be tough, and she’ll stand up for what she believes in.
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  And she went through -- just like I did, four years ago, in terms of litigation of different things -- she went through it before and did very well.
 
     Rudy, what do you think?
 
     MR. GIULIANI:  I think the article in the New York Times today reveals a very strong anti-Catholic bias.  I mean, it says in the article that Catholicism and the American ethos can’t be -- contradict each other.
 
     Q    Well, let me ask a follow-up.
 
     MR. GIULIANI:  What is -- what -- I mean, what is the American ethos?  It’s their version of it.  That’s a horrible thing to say.  And then it said that Catholics have difficulty separating public and private morality.  I don’t have difficulty separating public and private morality.

     So what I see is the beginning of a really strong anti-Catholic attack.  And having lived through the John Kennedy election, that article today reminded me of the things that used to be written before John Kennedy.  “Could a Catholic be loyal to the United States?”  Come on.
 
     Q    Well, having said that --
 
     MR. GIULIANI:  That’s exactly what Feinstein raised when she made that awful remark to -- to the judge.
 
     Q    Well, let me repeat my question again.  Why are only two bishops within the Church speaking out?  And will you make an effort to get the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops --
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Oh, I think they’re going to -- they’ll come out very strongly.  This is day one.  I mean, we’ve just started this.  This is absolutely day one.  And, you know, I mean, they’re going to be coming out very strong.
 
     The Catholic Church is very well united on this.  They are so thrilled that Amy was chosen.  They are so thrilled.  Oh, they'll be -- you know, again, it's been 24 hours, okay?  So it's been a very short period of time, but they're going to come out very strong.
 
     Yeah, please go ahead.  OAN.
 
     Q    Christina Bobb from OAN.  Thank you for the briefing.  You spoke earlier about some of the subjects that Joe Biden has been refusing to answer questions on, specifically Hunter Biden and his involvement with Russia, the Ukraine, even China.
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Incredible.
 
     Q    And then the Obamagate --
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  And the press doesn’t ask those questions.  It’s incredible.
 
     Q    I’m wondering -- the debate is coming up this week.  Do you anticipate Joe Biden being held to task?  And will he be able to answer those questions at the debate?
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  I don’t know.  I mean, we’re going to find out, because a lot things are going to come up in the debate.  That may be one.  I mean, the son didn’t have a job.  He had some big difficulties.  And then, all of the sudden, he’s making millions of dollars as soon as his father becomes Vice President.
 
     No, I think that’ll come up.  I don’t think -- I don’t think Joe can answer it, frankly.  I think there’s only one reason he made all that money.
 
     And then you have to say, “What about Joe’s involvement?  And why did Joe not give the billion dollars over to Ukraine, as an example, until such time as they let go of a prosecutor that was investigating the company that his son was involved with?”
I mean, there are some bad questions.  I don’t think they have answers.  And if we had a media that was fair -- even just reasonable -- this would be the biggest story for years and years and years.  Then you’d really be entitled to real Pulitzer Prizes, not the fake committee that gives you these fake awards.
 
     So, I mean, it’s a really fair question.  But it’s hard to believe, when you see the kind of money that he has made from China, from Russia, where the wife of the mayor of Moscow gives him three and half million dollars and nobody even has any question about it. 
 
     Why did he get three and half million dollars?  I’ll tell you why: Because Joe Biden was in on it.  Joe was in on it.  There’s no way that he wasn’t.  And uses Joe Biden’s plane -- Air Force Two.  Uses Joe -- and they go to China, and then he comes back, and he never mentioned it to his father that he just got a billion and a half dollars?
 
     And now it’s turning out that it’s much more money than that, Rudy.  It’s turned out to be much more money from China.  They have -- a member of the Chinese Communist Party gave him a lot of money.  And the press has no interest in these stories.  It’s -- it’s just -- it’s very disheartening for the people of our country.
 
     Please.
 
     Q    Mr. President, if he tries to dodge the questions or doesn’t address them head on, are you prepared with the facts and information to answer that for the American people?
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I have all the information.  It just came out.  I mean, I didn’t know about Moscow -- three and a half million dollars from the mayor’s wife.  I didn’t know about that.
 
     And he’s a very influential, powerful man in Russia, as you know.  And it wasn’t me; I didn’t have anything to do with Russia.  That came out loud and clear.
 
     What also came out is they should have never gone into this fake Mueller investigation.  And it also came out that the 31 phones that were wiped clean shouldn’t have been wiped clean.  And that's a criminal act. 
 
     And Bloomberg likewise shouldn't be paying for prisoners to go -- in Florida -- go and vote, because he's basically paying -- which is totally illegal -- going and paying prisoners.  I hope he hasn't done it yet.  But he's down in writing as doing it.  This is what he wants to do so that he can ingratiate himself to the Democrats after they made him look like a total fool in the debate.
 
     I mean, what they did to him is incredible.  And that he goes out and spends money, it shows you the problems that he's got.  Mini Mike.
 
     But for him to go out and buy votes, because that's -- I don't know, you're very good lawyer.  Are you allowed to go tell people that, “Go vote.  I’m going to pay off your tab”?
 
     MR. CHRISTIE:  You surely can’t buy votes, that’s for sure.
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah, because that’s what it is.  I mean, it’s a very serious -- a very serious charge.
 
     Yeah, please go ahead.
 
     Q    Mr. President, if he --
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  No, I didn’t -- I was talking to you.  Yeah.
 
     Q    Thank you, Mr. President.  You know that there --
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  I can’t -- could you -- we have a little hard time --
 
     Q    Yeah.
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Good.  Thank you.
 
     Q    There has been (inaudible) military action in the Karabakh -- Azerbaijan.  And --
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  In where?
 
     Q    The Azerbaijan -- the Karabakh.  And the civilians are killed.  And according to the officials from Azerbaijan, they say the first shoot came from the Armenians.  What’s your comment on this?
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  So we’re looking at it very strongly.  It just happened.  And I know about it.  I learned about it today and yesterday.  And we’re looking at it very strongly.  We have a lot of good relationships in that area.  We’ll see if we can stop it.
 
     Okay?  Thank you very much.
 
                         END                 6:08 P.M. EDT

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING: SUPPORT FOR PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP’S NOMINATION OF JUDGE AMY CONEY BARRETT TO THE SUPREME COURT Members of Congress

 

Office of the Press Secretary

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING:
SUPPORT FOR PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP’S NOMINATION OF JUDGE AMY CONEY BARRETT TO THE SUPREME COURT

Members of Congress


Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY): “President Trump could not have made a better decision. Judge Amy Coney Barrett is an exceptionally impressive jurist and an exceedingly well-qualified nominee to the Supreme Court of the United States.”

Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-SD): “The president had a strong list of principled and conservative jurists from which he could have chosen, and I applaud him for his selection of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.”

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA): “President Trump just knocked it out of the park with his Supreme Court nominee. There is no question that Amy Coney Barrett is the best-qualified person to uphold the Constitution. The Senate should confirm her quickly.”

House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA): “Another great Supreme Court pick by @realDonaldTrump. Amy Coney Barrett is an impeccable jurist and an extraordinarily thoughtful, principled woman committed to our Constitution—and a New Orleans native! She deserves a swift, fair Senate process focused on her qualifications.”

House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney (R-WY): “Judge Barrett is an excellent choice to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. She is exceptionally qualified and her record demonstrates an unwavering fidelity to the Constitution.”

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC): “Judge Barrett is highly qualified in all the areas that matter – character, integrity, intellect, and judicial disposition. She is an outstanding #SupremeCourt nominee by President @realDonaldTrump.”

Senate Judiciary Committee Member Chuck Grassley (R-IA): “Judge Barrett demonstrated her brilliant legal mind before the Judiciary Committee in 2017 and in more than 100 opinions since joining the Seventh Circuit. … She is eminently qualified for the Supreme Court.”

Senate Judiciary Committee Member John Cornyn (R-TX): “Judge Amy Coney Barrett is a legal trailblazer with a deep respect for the law and our nation’s founding principles.”

Senate Judiciary Committee Member Mike Lee (R-UT): “Judge Barrett is going to be a fantastic Supreme Court justice. I think she’ll be a textualist and an originalist. She’ll be devoted to the principle of constitutionality limited government.”

Senate Judiciary Committee Member Ted Cruz (R-TX): “Judge Barrett is well-qualified to serve on the United States Supreme Court. Having confirmed her to the circuit court in 2017 with bipartisan support, the Senate has already undertaken a thorough and rigorous review of her record.”

Senate Judiciary Committee Member Ben Sasse (R-NE): “Judge Barrett is a brilliant legal thinker and will be an excellent Supreme Court Justice.”

Senate Judiciary Committee Member Josh Hawley (R-MO): “This is a big moment for religious conservatives. For years we’ve been told to take a back seat in #SCOTUS nominations, but not any longer. @realDonaldTrump has chosen a nominee in #AmyConeyBarrett who religious conservatives can call one of their own”

Senate Judiciary Committee Member Thom Tillis (R-NC): “Today, President @realDonaldTrump nominated Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. Judge Barrett is an incredible, well-qualified judge who interprets the Constitution as written and she will protect the rights of all Americans.”

Senate Judiciary Committee Member Joni Ernst (R-IA): “Today, Judge Amy Coney Barrett joins a growing, but still far too small, group of women nominated to serve on our nation’s highest court. Judge Barrett is an experienced jurist, a working mom of seven, an accomplished legal scholar, and a fellow Midwesterner.”

Senate Judiciary Committee Member Mike Crapo (R-ID): “Congratulations to Judge Amy Coney Barrett for this high honor. I look forward to the opportunity to meet with her to learn and understand more deeply about her judicial philosophy.”

Senate Judiciary Committee Member John Kennedy (R-LA): “@realDonaldTrump has nominated an impressive jurist in Judge Amy Coney Barrett, who has real-world experience in the classroom and in the courtroom.”

Senate Judiciary Committee Member Marsha Blackburn (R-TN): “Congratulations to the Honorable Amy Coney Barrett. Judge Barrett is an outstanding jurist and a committed constitutionalist. She is an excellent nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court and I look forward to hearing her testimony before @senjudiciary.”

Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK): “I congratulate Judge Amy Coney Barrett on her nomination to serve on our nation’s highest court.”

Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL): “Our next Supreme Court Justice must be a steadfast supporter of upholding our nation’s Constitution.  I have no doubt in Judge Barrett’s qualifications and I look forward to supporting her nomination.”

Sen. John Boozman (R-AR): “Congratulations to Judge Barrett on her nomination to the Supreme Court. She’s well qualified for the job given her extensive legal and academic experience. Like the president’s previous nominees, she understands her Constitutional role.”

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR): “Judge Amy Coney Barrett is one of the finest legal minds of her generation and has now proven to be a wise judge as well. I congratulate Judge Barrett on her nomination and I commend President Trump for another outstanding choice.”

Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ): “Judge Amy Coney Barrett is a highly qualified nominee, who I look forward to meeting with and evaluating in the upcoming weeks.”

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL): “Judge Barrett is a well-qualified, highly respected nominee, and that’s why the Senate previously confirmed her… I believe Judge Barrett would make an excellent Supreme Court justice, and I look forward to once again supporting her nomination in the U.S. Senate.”

Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL): “I applaud President @realDonaldTrump’s nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to service on the U.S. Supreme Court.  She is a brilliant legal mind who understands the proper and distinct roles of the three branches of government.”

Sen. David Perdue (R-GA): “Judge Amy Coney Barrett is an outstanding choice to serve on our nation’s highest court.”

Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA): “I’m proud to support #AmyConeyBarrett as @realDonaldTrump’s nominee for #SCOTUS.  I’m confident she will protect individual liberties like the right to life & the 2nd Amendment by ensuring the Constitution & our laws are applied as written. Congratulations, Judge Barrett!”

Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID): “Congratulations to Judge Amy Coney Barrett for this high honor. Judge Barrett has a reputation as an exemplary jurist and Constitutionalist, and I look forward to meeting with her to learn more about her judicial philosophy.”

Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN): “Amy Coney Barrett has shown through her nearly one hundred written opinions on the appellate court that she is a strong Constitutional originalist who will not cut the American people out of their own government by treating the Supreme Court as a third chamber of Congress.”

Sen. Todd Young (R-IN): “I am thrilled with @POTUS’s nomination of fellow Hoosier, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, to serve on the Supreme Court. I’ve come to know her as an incredibly sharp legal mind, a woman of great integrity, and a dedicated mother of seven.”

Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS): “I look forward to meeting with Judge Amy Coney Barrett, and I congratulate her on this most prestigious nomination.”

Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS): “Judge Amy Coney Barrett is a well-qualified nominee, having served as a clerk for Justice Scalia and distinguishing herself as a law professor at Notre Dame before receiving bipartisan support during her confirmation to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.”

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY): “Congratulations to Judge Amy Coney Barrett on her nomination to the Supreme Court. I believe she will make an excellent justice that will serve our country and Constitution well, and I look forward to seeing her confirmed soon.”

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA): “Judge Barrett would be only the second Supreme Court justice from Louisiana, and she’s going to make our state and nation proud.”

Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO): “Judge Amy Coney Barrett, in both her judicial record and philosophy, has made clear her commitment to interpreting and upholding the law and the Constitution as they are written. I was proud to support her confirmation to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals and look forward to supporting her confirmation to the Supreme Court.”

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS): “I commend President Trump on another exceptional pick for the high court, and I hope to meet with Judge Barrett soon.”

Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS): “@realdonaldtrump has exercised his right to put forth a nominee to fill a #SCOTUS vacancy.  In Judge Amy Coney Barrett, I believe the President has chosen a qualified conservative jurist who would bring an important perspective to the Court.”

Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT): “Judge Barrett will defend our Montana way of life from those that want to take away our 2nd Amendment rights and destroy our jobs.”

Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC): “President Trump has made a solid choice in nominating Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. Judge Barrett is a highly accomplished and respected candidate.”

Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE): “I am encouraged that @realDonaldTrump has announced Judge Amy Coney Barrett as his nominee to serve as the next Justice on the Supreme Court. As a young mother on the 7th circuit court with a history clerking for Justice Scalia, she is a brilliant choice.”

Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND): “We congratulate Judge Barrett on her nomination to the Supreme Court. Judge Barrett has an outstanding record of accomplishment as well as a strong record of upholding the law, rather than legislating from the bench.”

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND): “Excellent choice, President @realDonaldTrump Judge Amy Coney Barrett seems made for this moment. She’s a brilliant legal scholar who’s come face-to-face with the appalling attacks of the far-left and won.”

Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH): “I welcome the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to serve as the next Associate Justice of the #SCOTUS. Judge Barrett is a well regarded jurist with a distinguished record of service who was confirmed by the Senate nearly 3 years ago for the 7th Circuit.”

Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK): “@realDonaldTrump made the right choice by choosing Amy Coney Barrett to serve on the Supreme Court.”

Sen. James Lankford (R-OK): “She is a dedicated mother of seven, a wife, and a person of strong faith. She is clearly well prepared for the task. Her education, experience and personal convictions all play an important role in her judicial philosophy as a strict constructionist.”

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA): “I am pleased that President Trump has nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court.”

Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC): “From her time as a clerk for Justice Antonin Scalia, to her work as an esteemed law professor and judge, Amy Coney Barrett has proven she would be a fantastic pick for the Supreme Court.”

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD): “President @realDonaldTrump has made an excellent choice in nominating Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.”

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT): “Amy Coney Barrett is a highly-respected jurist with distinguished legal and academic credentials.”

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI): “Less than three years ago, Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed on a bipartisan basis as a judge on the Federal 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. I was pleased to vote for her then, and I expect to support her confirmation as a justice on the Supreme Court.”

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV): “President Trump has selected another outstanding Supreme Court candidate by nominating Judge Amy Coney Barrett.”

Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY): “This is a historic choice by @realDonaldTrump. Judge Barrett is a highly qualified nominee. She will apply the law, not legislate from the bench.”

Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL): “The nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to be the next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court is a big win for this country.”

Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL): “Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed by the Senate to the U.S. Court of Appeals in 2017. She has already been vetted. She should easily and quickly be confirmed again.”

Rep. Martha Roby (R-AL): “I congratulate Amy Coney Barrett on her nomination to serve on the Supreme Court, and I look forward to following her upcoming confirmation process in the Senate.”

Rep. Rick Crawford (R-AR): “The President’s nomination to the highest court has the experience, intellect, and perspective that will one day show her to be a revered Justice.”

Rep. French Hill (R-AR): “@POTUS has nominated a well-qualified jurist to fill the vacancy left by the passing of Justice Ginsburg.”

Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-AR): “Amy Coney Barrett is an excellent pick for the Supreme Court. She’s a brilliant legal scholar with impeccable credentials, and her originalist approach to the Constitution will hopefully reverse the Court’s trend of legislating from the bench.”

Rep. Steve Womack (R-AR): “I congratulate Judge Amy Coney Barrett on her nomination to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. Judge Barrett’s impressive body of jurisprudence exemplifies a legal philosophy rooted in upholding the Constitution, the bedrock of our nation.”

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ): “Judge Amy Coney Barrett is a highly qualified jurist for our nation’s highest court, and she has been well regarded and respected by her colleagues.”

Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ): “Congratulations to Judge Amy Coney Barrett. She is a brilliant choice and will interpret our beloved constitution as written.”

Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-AZ): “Congratulations to Judge Amy Coney Barrett on her #SCOTUS nomination! President @realDonaldTrump has picked a distinguished judge, and I am confident she will defend the Constitution and rule of law.”

Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA): “Judge Barrett has been described as a ‘champion of originalism.’ That record gives me confidence that she will leave the policy making to Congress, where it belongs.”

Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO): “Judge Amy Coney Barrett is an excellent pick by President Trump for the Supreme Court. She is a brilliant legal mind and solid conservative. The Senate should confirm her immediately.”

Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO): “Thrilled that @realDonaldTrump has nominated Amy Coney Barrett to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court left by the passing of RBG.”

Rep. Mario Diaz Balart (R-FL): “Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s brilliance, exceptional credentials, and impressive record serve as proof that she will be an excellent addition to the U.S. Supreme Court.”

Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL): “I applaud @realDonaldTrump’s nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court.”

Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL): “Amy Coney Barrett will be a great addition to the #SCOTUS bench & will fiercely defend our constitution!”

Rep. Daniel Webster (R-FL): “Thank you @POTUS for keeping your word to nominate an individual with a record of preserving our liberties as enshrined in the Constitution of the United States.”

Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA): “Amy Coney Barrett is the perfect pick, and I look forward to her swift confirmation.”

Rep. Jody Hice (R-GA): “#AmyConeyBarrett is a dedicated Catholic, devoted mother of 7, and proud Constitutionalist. She’s a great choice for the job to succeed Justice Ginsburg.”

Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL): “Judge Amy Coney Barrett is an outstanding selection by President @realDonaldTrump to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court.”

Rep. Susan Brooks (R-IN): “I applaud President Trump for nominating 7th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.”

Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-IN): “.@realdonaldtrump outstanding selection as your nominee to the Supreme Court: Amy Coney Barrett. U.S. Senate quickly confirm this nominee!!!”

Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-IN): “I can think of no one better qualified to serve on the Supreme Court than my fellow Hoosier, Judge Amy Coney Barrett.”

Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY): “Thank you President Donald Trump for nominating to the U.S. Supreme Court the Honorable Amy Coney Barrett, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.”

Rep. James Comer (R-KY): “@realDonaldTrump hits another home run with his third #SCOTUS nomination.”

Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY): “I applaud @realDonaldTrump’s nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett as the 9th member of the Supreme Court.”

Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA): “Amy Coney Barrett is a solid Constitutionalist and highly regarded judge. She will make an excellent addition to our nation’s highest court.”

Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI): “President Trump has made an excellent decision in nominating Amy Coney Barrett for the Supreme Court. Judge Barrett is a skilled jurist with an exceptional record. I hope the Senate acts in a timely manner to confirm this highly qualified nominee.”

Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI): “I applaud President Trump for his selection of another highly qualified Supreme Court nominee.”

Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO): “I applaud President Trump for nominating Judge Amy Coney Barrett, a Constitutional conservative who will be steadfast in her pursuit of the original intent of our founding documents and the law. I encourage the Senate to swiftly confirm her.”

Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO): “I applaud @realDonaldTrump’s Supreme Court pick to #FillTheSeat!”

Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO): “Judge Barrett is one of our most well respected legal minds. President Trump has once again honored his commitment to appoint judges who put the Constitution and rule of law above all else.”

Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO): “Judge Barrett is a woman of extraordinary intellect who has dedicated her life and career to the judicial system and to the rule of law.”

Rep. Trent Kelly (R-MS): “Judge Amy Coney Barrett is an excellent decision by President Trump as a nominee to fill the vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court. I look forward to a swift confirmation in the U.S. Senate.”

Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC): “President Trump’s nomination of Amy Coney Barrett is an exciting and important step toward the long-sought goal of a Supreme Court that reliably honors the Constitution and enacted laws and refrains from legislating. I urge the Senate to confirm Judge Barrett promptly.”

Rep. Greg Murphy (R-NC): “Amy Coney Barrett is a proven originalist. She has a record of interpreting the laws as they are written rather than incorporating her own political beliefs into her decisions.”

Rep. Mark Walker (R-NC): “Congratulations to Amy Coney Barrett on her nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court by President @realDonaldTrump”

Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND): “Congratulations to Judge Amy Coney Barrett on her well deserved nomination to the Supreme Court!”

Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE): “Congratulations to Judge Amy Coney Barrett, a former clerk for Justice Scalia, Notre Dame law professor, federal appeals court judge for the Seventh Circuit, mother of 7, and a protector of the U.S. Constitution. She will apply the law fairly, reasonably, and as written.”

Rep. Pete King (R-NY): “Totally support @POTUS Trump decision to nominate Judge Amy Coney Barrett to SCOTUS. Outstanding choice.”

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY): “President @realDonaldTrump made a superb decision to nominate Judge Amy Coney Barrett to serve on the Supreme Court.”

Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY): “Judge Amy Coney Barrett was just nominated to the highest court in our land; a great honor for a US jurist.”

Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH): “Congratulations to Judge Amy Coney Barrett! I’m confident she will be a great addition to #SCOTUS.”

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH): “President Trump makes another great pick! Amy Coney Barrett is a beyond excellent choice for the United States Supreme Court.”

Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK): “In nominating Judge Amy Coney Barrett to fill the vacant seat on the Supreme Court, @POTUS is fulfilling his constitutional obligation, & he is right to do so.”

Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA): “Judge Amy Coney Barrett is a brilliant legal mind, an outstanding person, and the right choice for the Supreme Court.”

Rep. John Joyce (R-PA): “Judge Amy Coney Barrett is a qualified jurist and principled originalist who has a proven record of upholding the U.S. Constitution. I urge the Senate to follow historical precedent and ensure that this #SCOTUS nominee receives just consideration.”

Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA): “This is a great pick by @realDonaldTrump. Amy Coney Barrett will have a lasting impact on our judicial system.”

Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC): “Bravo to @realDonaldTrump for the outstanding nomination of a strong, thoughtful, and brilliant jurist, and one who will impact the Supreme Court for decades to come.”

Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC): “By every measure of both competence and experience, Amy Coney Barrett appears to be a highly qualified nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court.”

Rep. Tom Rice (R-SC): “Amy Coney Barrett is an excellent pick by the Trump Administration for the next Supreme Court Justice. She is experienced, accomplished, and a great defender of the Constitution.”

Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC): “I commend @realDonaldTrump for nominating Judge Amy Coney Barrett for the Supreme Court Justice position.”

Rep. Mark Green (R-TN): “Judge Amy Coney Barrett is a brilliant jurist committed to interpreting the Constitution as our Founders intended. I fully support her nomination and swift confirmation.”

Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN): “I support President Donald Trump’s decision to nominate Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the United States Supreme Court.”

Rep. David Kustoff (R-TN): “I applaud President Trump’s nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.”

Rep. John Rose (R-TN): “President Trump makes history again! Judge Amy Coney Barrett is a strong constitutionalist and an excellent choice for #SCOTUS. I look forward to her swift confirmation in the Senate.”

Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-TX): “Judge #ACB has impeccable integrity, exceptional credentials, and the highest regard for the Constitution and rule of law.  I applaud President @realDonaldTrump for another stellar appointment to the Supreme Court.”

Rep. Michael Cloud (R-TX): “I would like to congratulate @POTUS on a stellar Supreme Court nominee in Amy Coney Barrett.”

Rep. Roger Williams (R-TX): “I fully support President Trump fulfilling his constitutional duty by nominating the Honorable Amy Coney Barrett to fill the recent Supreme Court vacancy.”

Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-VA): “Amy Coney Barrett has devoted her life to serving the Constitution. Her nomination to the Supreme Court reflects a distinguished career and stellar judicial mind.”

Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-WI): “Congratulations to Judge Amy Coney Barrett on her nomination to the Supreme Court today! Well deserved!”

Rep. David McKinley (R-WV): “Judge Amy Coney Barrett is immensely qualified & will adhere strictly to the text of laws & the wording of the Constitution. She will bring bring extensive experience to the bench.”

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA): “A great choice! I applaud @POTUS for this decision to nominate Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. She’s qualified and deeply respected for her great legal mind. I trust she will uphold the rule of law and defend the Constitution.”

Rep. Carol Miller (R-WV): “I applaud President Trump’s decision to nominate Judge Amy Coney Barrett to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left behind by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.”

State Officials

 

Governor Mike Dunleavy (R-AK): “Judge Amy Coney Barrett is an exceptionally qualified jurist who will make an excellent US Supreme Court Associate Justice.”

Governor Kay Ivey (R-AL): “I commend @POTUS’ nomination of Judge Barrett to #SCOTUS. She’ll embody the precedent est. by Justice RBG & prove that a woman can be a wife, mother, & person of faith, while still effectively performing her duties as a justice.”

Governor Asa Hutchinson (R-AR): “Judge Amy Coney Barrett will make an excellent Supreme Court justice. … She is a sound jurist whose years of legal service will bring much-needed diversity to the Supreme Court. President Trump has made a wise choice.”

Governor Doug Ducey (R-AZ): “I’m thrilled to see President Trump nominate Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the United States Supreme Court.”

Governor Ralph Torres (R-CNMI): “Judge Amy Coney Barrett is an accomplished and excellent jurist, who will serve all Americans from Washington to the territories honorably on our nation’s highest court.”

Governor Brian Kemp (R-GA): “Excellent choice by @POTUS @realDonaldTrump, and congratulations to Judge Amy Coney Barrett on your historic SCOTUS nomination!”

Governor Kim Reynolds (R-IA): “President @realdonaldtrump has nominated an incredibly qualified, objective jurist and law professor to serve on the Supreme Court.”

Governor Eric Holcomb (R-IN): “Judge Barrett’s compelling combination of experience and intellect would serve our country well on the Supreme Court bench, adding another healthy dose of Hoosier hospitality to our nation’s capital.”

Governor Brad Little (R-ID): “Idaho supports President Trump’s Supreme Court Nominee!”

Governor Mike Parson (R-MO): “#AmyConeyBarrett is a fierce protector of our Constitution and an inspiration for women across our nation.”

Governor Tate Reeves (R-MS): “I am thrilled about the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett! A strong constitutionalist. Means a lot for my girls to see such an example of strong, southern, Godly leadership from a conservative woman at the highest levels of the law. Ignore the inevitable slander and confirm her!”

Governor Doug Burgum (R-ND): “Congrats to Judge Amy Coney Barrett on her nomination by @realDonaldTrump, an excellent choice to be the next U.S. Supreme Court justice and 5th woman to serve on the nation’s highest court.”

Governor Pete Ricketts (R-NE): “Judge Amy Coney Barrett is highly qualified to serve on our nation’s highest court. She has an outstanding record of respecting the Constitution and the rule of law, and I strongly urge the U.S. Senate to swiftly confirm her nomination.”

Governor Mike DeWine (R-OH): “As President of the United States, President Trump has the constitutional obligation to put forward a U.S. Supreme Court nominee, and I applaud his selection of Judge Amy Coney Barrett, who is both highly qualified and highly respected.”

Governor Wanda Vazquez Garced (PNP/R-PR): “I would like to congratulate POTUS @realDonaldTrump for exercising his constitutional obligation to nominate Justice Barrett to fill the vacancy in the SCOTUS.”

Governor Henry McMaster (R-SC): “Amy Coney Barrett is an excellent choice by President @realDonaldTrump  I’m confident she will serve on the Supreme Court with distinction - guided by the Constitution and the rule of law.”

Governor Kristi Noem (R-SD): “Liberals and their media allies always attack strong women who defend the Constitution. So I hope South Dakotans will join me in praying for Judge Amy Coney Barrett and her family.”

Governor Bill Lee (R-TN): “Excellent pick with a Tennessee connection. Congratulations to Amy Coney Barrett on her nomination and looking forward to a swift confirmation.”

Governor Greg Abbott (R-TX): “Judge Amy Coney Barrett is a remarkable individual who will make an outstanding Supreme Court Justice.”

Governor Jim Justice (R-WV): “My sincere congratulations go out to @realDonaldTrump on an outstanding selection for the U.S. Supreme Court. Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s career is proof that she is committed to upholding our Constitution and the rule of law.”

Governor Mark Gordon (R-WY): “Congratulations to Judge Amy Coney Barrett on her nomination by @realDonaldTrump to the #SCOTUS. Her career as a jurist has demonstrated a commitment to our Constitution and the rule of law.”

Lieutenant Governor Will Ainsworth (R-AL): “President Trump is fulfilling his Constitutional oath and his obligation to the American people by putting forward a Supreme Court nominee.”

Lieutenant Governor Tim Griffin (R-AR): “Judge Amy Coney Barrett has a brilliant legal mind, impeccable credentials—no. 1 in law school class & clerk for Justice Scalia—& strong fidelity to our Constitution & rule of law. She & our country deserve a fair and respectful hearing, & I look forward to her confirmation.”

Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nunez (R-FL): “Congratulations Judge Amy Coney Barrett for your nomination to #SCOTUS. I look forward to you serving our nation’s highest court with honor and distinction.”

Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan (R-GA): “There are no two ways about it - Judge Amy Coney Barrett is imminently qualified to serve on our nations highest court. As I recall this moment from a her last confirmation hearing, I’m reminded she is not only a remarkable jurist, she’s also a devoted mother and wife.”

Lieutenant Governor Adam Gregg (R-IA): “Excited and motivated by Judge Amy Coney Barrett, President @realDonaldTrump’s superb pick to be the next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States!”

Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser (R-LA): “I am pleased that Louisiana-native, Amy Coney Barrett has been nominated by  @realDonaldTrump to the Supreme Court. Amy, a graduate of St. Mary’s Dominican High School, is a conservative intellectual, a great choice for our country’s highest court, and a wonderful ambassador of LA”

Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette (R-SC): “As a Catholic woman in government, I could not be more supportive of President @realDonaldTrump’s U.S. Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett. I’m thankful to our President for taking bold action in his selection of a strong, smart, conservative woman.”

Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally (R-TN): “Congratulations to Amy Coney Barrett on her nomination to the Supreme Court by @realdonaldtrump.”

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall (R): “Judge Amy Coney Barrett, who clerked for Justice Scalia, is a woman of unimpeachable character and integrity, an attorney of extraordinary intellect and accomplishment, and a jurist of the highest caliber and order.”

Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge (R): “Pres. @realDonaldTrump has again nominated an exceptional legal scholar to serve on the nation’s highest court.”

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody (R): “Phenomenal pick by @realDonaldTrump. Judge Amy Coney Barrett will be a faithful servant to the rule of law. Tremendous to see another working mother nominated to serve on the nation’s highest court.”

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr (R): “Amy Coney Barrett is an exemplary jurist and an extraordinary mother. She is accomplished and hardworking, and she understands the Constitution and the #RuleOfLaw. We need a full Court this term.”

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron (R): “Fantastic #SCOTUS pick by @RealDonaldTrump. Judge Barrett
is a courageous defender of the Constitution and her record speaks for itself. I’m confident @senatemajldr will make sure she’s confirmed.”

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry (R): “The defense of life and liberty depends on a complete Supreme Court. That is why I applaud the President for ignoring leftist hypocrisy and fulfilling his Constitutional responsibility without delay. I hope the U.S. Senate will also fulfill their Constitutional duty and quickly confirm Judge Barrett.”

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt (R): “The selection of #AmyConeyBarrett for #SCOTUS by @realDonaldTrump is an absolute home run. She’s an incredible jurist, a true originalist and someone who has lived an incredible life of service.”

Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch (R): “Amy Coney Barrett is an exemplary jurist. Accomplished, honest, hardworking. She will be a fair Justice and deserves a fair confirmation process.”

Montana Attorney General Tim Fox (R): “Great to see that @realDonaldTrump has nominated Amy Coney Barrett to be the next Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Judge Barrett has impeccable and unassailable credentials.”

Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson (R): “Judge Amy Coney Barrett has served the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit with honor. Her numerous accomplishments have prepared her for this moment, including clerking for Justice Scalia. The time is right for her to rise to the highest Court of the land.”

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost (R): “Court of Appeals Judge Amy Coney Barrett is President Trump’s best judicial nomination yet. Brilliant, clear-eyed and capable, she will apply the law is it is written, not as she wishes it to be.”

Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter (R): “Judge Amy Coney Barrett will be an outstanding addition to the U.S. Supreme Court.”

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson (R): “Amy Coney Barrett is an accomplished and honorable jurist, who deserves a fair process and confirmation. The Constitution and history are on our side.”

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R): “May God shield Amy Coney Barrett and her family during this process. She will make an exceptional justice on the United States Supreme Court.”

Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes (R): “Amy Coney Barrett is an incredible candidate for the high court who has a deep and abiding respect for the Rule of Law. She’s a respected  jurist, accomplished professor, dedicated wife, mother and woman of faith. I urge Congress to confirm her before Election Day.”

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey (R): “Judge Barrett is a fantastic pick by President Trump. She brings a wealth of experience and judicial wisdom to the Supreme Court. She is a respected scholar, a highly qualified jurist and a principled woman of faith.”

 

Cabinet Members & Administration Officials

 

Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross: “President Trump has put forth a highly qualified individual with the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett.”

Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar: “Honored to be at the @WhiteHouse today as President Trump announced that the incredibly qualified Judge Amy Coney Barrett is his Supreme Court nominee.”

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson: “I applaud President @realDonaldTrump’s nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.”

Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao: “Judge Amy Coney Barrett is a highly qualified jurist with a brilliant legal mind and the right temperament to interpret the U.S. Constitution.”

Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette: “President @realDonaldTrump has made a strong choice in selecting Amy Coney Barrett as his Supreme Court nominee.”

Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Andrew Wheeler: “Judge Barrett is an excellent choice and will uphold the rule of law should she be confirmed. I applaud @POTUS ‘s decision to nominate an originalist to the highest court.”

Policy Organizations & Legal Community

 

American Center for Law and Justice: “Judge Amy Coney Barrett is an excellent nominee to be the next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, with a proven track record of upholding the Constitution and the rule of law.”

American Conservative Union: “Judge Amy Coney Barrett must be confirmed before the election.”

Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning: “President Donald Trump has fulfilled his constitutional responsibility to nominate Amy Coney Barrett for a seat on the Supreme Court. Coney Barrett is highly qualified jurist and would make an outstanding associate justice.”

Americans for Prosperity Vice President for Legal and Judicial Strategy Casey Mattox: “AFP’s activists proudly support the confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett. We are confident that she will embrace her role to safeguard the constitutional rights of the people while recognizing that we elect Congress, not the courts, to legislate.”

Americans United for Life President and CEO Catherine Glenn Foster: “Amy Coney Barrett is the best and most qualified successor for the iconic Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the United States Supreme Court. The President made a wise choice.”

Article 3 Project President Mike Davis: “President @realDonaldTrump could not have picked a better Supreme Court nominee.”

Cato Institute’s Robert A. Levy Center For Constitutional Studies Director Ilya Shapiro: “Judge Barrett has displayed a seriousness of purpose and is dedicated to finding and applying the Constitution’s original public meaning.”

Club for Growth President David McIntosh: “Judge Amy Coney Barrett is an excellent selection who has shown a rock-solid commitment to originalism and the Constitution.”

Concerned Women for America President and CEO Peggy Nance: “Conservative women are rejoicing today on this significant moment where President Donald Trump has, for the first time in our nation’s history, given conservative women a voice on the nation’s highest court. Amy Coney Barrett is a constitutionalist, a top-notch legal scholar, and simply the best choice for this seat.”

The George Washington University Law Professor Johnathan Turley: “I have long criticized the near monopoly held by Harvard, Yale, and Columbia in modern nominations. A graduate of Notre Dame, Barrett brings a long needed educational diversity to the court.”

Gun Owners of America Senior Vice President Erich Pratt: “From a Second Amendment perspective, Judge Amy Coney Barrett appears to be a strong choice. ”

Faith and Freedom Coalition Executive Director Timothy Head: “Amy Coney Barrett is the principled conservative we need on the Supreme Court bench right now. She is an accomplished woman of the law and someone who practices the pro-life values she preaches.”

Faith and Freedom Coalition Chairman Ralph Reed: “Outstanding choice by @realDonaldTrump of Amy Coney Barrett for #SCOTUS. She is superbly qualified and should be swiftly confirmed by the US Senate.”

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins: “Excellent choice!  So grateful @realDonaldTrump doesn’t choose the path of least resistance!”

Harvard University Law Professor Noah Feldman: “Regardless of what you or I may think of the circumstances of this nomination, Barrett is highly qualified to serve on the Supreme Court.”

Heritage Foundation President Kay C. James: “At this pivotal point in our nation’s history, Judge Barrett is the right person for the job. She is a committed originalist with sterling credentials, a brilliant legal mind, and a steel backbone. Every American should not only support her nomination, but celebrate it.”

Jewish Coalition for Religious Liberty: “The Jewish Coalition for Religious Liberty (’JCRL’) and its general counsel Howard Slugh applaud the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to become an associate justice on the United States Supreme Court.”

Judicial Crisis Network President Carrie Severino: “Wow. I had high expectations and I was so impressed by how charming and lovely Amy Coney Barrett is in person. She knocked it out of the park!”

Live Action: “Congratulations to Amy Coney Barrett on her nomination to the Supreme Court! We support her swift confirmation to our nation’s highest court.”

March For Life: “President Trump has nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. Possessing impeccable qualifications, we have confidence she will fairly apply the law and Constitution as written, which includes protecting the most vulnerable in our nation.”

National Rifle Association: “The @NRA fully supports President @realDonaldTrump’s nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the United States Supreme Court. The Senate should act swiftly to confirm her.”

Students for Life: “The PICK is in and we couldn’t be more excited! Amy Coney Barrett will be a judicial role model in the Supreme Court and a pro-life leader for years to come. #justice4life #confirmACB”

Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser: “Amy Coney Barrett is a brilliant jurist in the mold of the late Justice Scalia, and President Trump could not have made a stronger selection to fill this Supreme Court vacancy.”

Tea Party Patriots: “A woman of unparalleled achievement, towering intellect, sterling credentials and unyielding loyalty to the Constitution was just nominated to the Supreme Court.”

University of California Berkley Law Professor John Yoo: “President Donald Trump has kept his campaign promise and nominated an outstanding conservative woman for the Supreme Court vacancy created by the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg last week.”

University of Iowa Law Professor Derek T. Muller: “Amy Barrett was my Evidence professor. She’s been exceedingly generous with her time & an important mentor to me, as the field of Notre Dame Law alumni-turned-law professors is fairly small. I’m thrilled to see a good & decent person, & a crisp & clear writer, nominated.”

University of Notre Dame President Rev. John I. Jenkins: “The same impressive intellect, character and temperament that made Judge Barrett a successful nominee for the U.S. Court of Appeals will serve her and the nation equally well as a Justice of the United States Supreme Court.”

University of Notre Dame Law School Dean Marcus Cole: “Judge Amy Coney Barrett is an absolutely brilliant legal scholar and jurist. She is also one of the most popular teachers we have ever had here at Notre Dame Law School.”

University of Notre Dame Law Professor Nicole Garnett: “I am elated that the president chose my friend and colleague as his nominee. She will serve our nation with distinction.”

U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO Thomas J. Donohue: “America’s free enterprise system depends on the fair application of the law, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has no doubt that Judge Barrett will treat all litigants – including the business community – fairly. She will make an excellent associate justice.”


Media

 

Chicago Tribune Editorial Board: “Barrett, 48, appears to be an excellent choice. We hope the Judiciary Committee will provide a platform for her to explain how she approaches constitutional and statutory issues and address any questions or criticisms that senators may have.”

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer: “Clearly Judge Amy Coney Barrett is highly qualified as a jurist. She has a wonderful, wonderful personal story, a beautiful family as we all saw.”

CNN Contributor Scott Jennings: “ACB. Sharpie - she’s a lock. Trump remarks perfect today. ACB remarks were perfect. Family adorable. White House decorated beautifully. A lot of Americans are going to see themselves in ACB and love this nomination.”

CNN Political Commentator Mia Love: “Congratulations to #AmyConeyBarrett for her nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. It is so refreshing to see a successful conservative woman being asked to serve our nation at the highest levels. She is eminently qualified to serve and I look forward to her Senate confirmation.”

The Detroit News Editorial Board: “Regardless of the politics at play, Barrett is a strong choice, and she deserves a fair hearing in the Senate.”

The Detroit News’ Ingrid Jacques: “Watching Judge Amy Coney Barrett just now, I’m proud as a conservative woman to see her accept this nomination with such grace.”

Fox News’ Jeanine Pirro: “President Trump’s nomination today of Amy Coney Barrett – a brilliant scholar, jurist, constitutional textualist, mother of seven, with an unblemished reputation – will cement the conservative leaning of the Supreme Court for decades to come.”

National Review Editor Rich Lowry: “Inspired choice, pitch-perfect event, great introduction to the American public”

National Review Contributing Editor Andrew McCarthy: “I think she’ll be an exquisite Justice in the Supreme Court.”

Political Commentator Josh Holmes: “The man nominates incredible judges. No question about it.”

Radio Host Hugh Hewitt: “Well done @realDonaldTrump and congratulations to Judge Barrett who will soon be Justice Barrett.”

Radio Host Mark Levin: “Judge Barrett’s comments were pitch- and substantively perfect.”

Townhall Editor Katie Pavlich: “Congratulations to Judge Barrett and thank you President Trump for having the courage to nominate her.”

Washington Examiner Contributor Kimberly Ross: “Judge Barrett is an excellent nominee.”

The Washington Post Columnist Marc Thiessen: “What a wonderful model for young girls. You can have a big diverse family and also serve on the highest court in the land.”