Donald Trump will nominate Amy Coney Barrett for US Supreme Court, insiders say

Barrett, 48, is known for her conservative religious views and served as clerk to late Justice Antonin Scalia

Trump says he will formally announce pick to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Saturday

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Amy Coney Barrett, a law professor at Notre Dame University. Photo: Notre Dame University handout via Reuters

Published: 7:10am, 26 Sep 2020Updated: 7:25pm, 26 Sep 2020

US President Donald Trump plans to announce conservative federal appeal court judge Amy Coney Barrett on Saturday as his Supreme Court nominee, two sources said, as he moves to shift it further to the right and sets up a heated Senate confirmation fight with Democrats less than six weeks before the presidential election.

If confirmed by the Senate, which is controlled by Trump’s fellow Republicans, Barrett would replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a liberal icon who died at age 87 on September 18.

Barrett is a favourite of religious conservatives, a key Trump constituency, and he has asked the Senate to confirm her before the November 3 election in which he is seeking a second term and Democrats are aiming to seize control of the chamber.

Barrett, 48, was appointed by Trump to the Chicago-based 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals in 2017. If confirmed to the lifetime post, she would become the fifth woman ever to serve on the high court while expanding its conservative majority to a rock-solid 6-3.

Her selection was viewed with alarm by liberal advocacy groups. Abortion rights groups have expressed concern that on the Supreme Court Barrett could help overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalised abortion nationwide.

The casket of the late US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg lies in state at the US Capitol in Washington on Friday. Photo: Xinhua