Amy Coney Barrett staked out on Wednesday her judicial independence -- even from her mentor -- during another day of intense questioning on Capitol Hill where she tried to assure senators she would be an impartial jurist who would weigh opposing views fairly.
President Trump's Supreme Court nominee already distanced herself from Trump's tweets on Tuesday -- arguing she would be nobody's "pawn." But on Wednesday, Barrett also distinguished herself from Justice Antonin Scalia, the late conservative icon for whom Barrett clerked.
Since Barrett admittedly prescribes to the same originalist judicial philosophy that Scalia championed, Democrats claim that Scalia's past votes against Obamacare, gay marriage and the Voting Rights Act would be hers too.
But under questioning from Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., Barrett told the senator it's unfair to expect she would decide a case just as her mentor had done.
"I hope that you aren't suggesting that I don't have my own mind," Barrett said, "or that I couldn't think independently ... (Read more)
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