Sen. Cruz: President Trump Made a Terrific Selection in Nominating Judge Barrett
Releases statement following meeting with Judge Amy Coney Barrett
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement after his meeting with Supreme Court Nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett:
"It was a terrific pleasure to have the chance to sit down and visit with Judge Barrett. She has impeccable credentials - she graduated number one in her class at Notre Dame Law School, she clerked for the great Justice Antonin Scalia [and] she's been a law professor at Notre Dame for 20 years. She's one of the most respected federal appellate judges in the country, and somehow she manages to do all that while being a mom to seven kids, which I have to admit I don't know how to do the latter, much less everything else that Judge Barrett manages to do at the same time.
"I think the president's decision to nominate Judge Barrett may well have been the most important decision of his presidency. In making this nomination, the president was fulfilling the promise he made to the American people. Likewise, I expect that the Senate will confirm Judge Barrett and do so by the end of [next] month. And when the Senate does so, we will be honoring the promise we made to the American people - to confirm principled constitutionalist to the Supreme Court.
"The next few weeks promise to be a circus. Unfortunately, I expect my Democratic colleagues to do everything they can to attack Judge Barrett. We've already seen the beginning of this with the attacks on her family. The attacks have been despicable, and I very much hope we don't see Democrats recreate the personal smears that marred the Kavanaugh confirmation hearing. Regardless, the Senate's going to do our job and honor our promise to defend the Constitution."
When asked if Judge Barrett should recuse herself from any election cases that should arise after her confirmation, Sen. Cruz said:
"Of course not. The entire reason the Senate should act and should act promptly to confirm a ninth justice is so that the Supreme Court can resolve any cases that arise in the wake of the election. This election is a close, contested election. [...] If we see multiple cases challenging the election, if the court were to have only eight justices, it could divide 4-4, and under the Constitution a 4-4 court can't decide anything. We could face conflicting court of appeals judgements simultaneously with no Supreme Court able to resolve that. That would be an untenable situation, it would create a constitutional crisis, and part of the reason the Senate needs to act and act swiftly is so that we have nine justices that can resolve any issue."
WATCH: Sen. Cruz on ‘This Week': ‘We Need a Full Court on Election Day'
READ: Sen. Cruz Issues Statement in Support of Nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court
WATCH: Sen. Cruz Sets Record Straight on SCOTUS Precedent
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