On the recordOctober 31, 2017
I rise today to speak in support of a fellow Hoosier, Amy Coney Barrett, who has been nominated by President Trump to serve on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Professor Barrett's credentials are well known. She is a mother of seven children, a distinguished legal scholar at the University of Notre Dame Law School, where she herself graduated with high honors and served as editor of the Notre Dame Law Review. She clerked for Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court of the United States and Judge Silberman on the Circuit Court for the District of Columbia, and she is an expert on the Federal courts. Unfortunately, some of my colleagues on the left have made an issue of Professor Barrett's Catholic faith. Echoing what Leader McConnell has said, we do not have religious tests for office in the United States of America, period. I applaud all of those who have spoken up as the Senate weighs Professor Barrett's confirmation. That includes Notre Dame president, Rev. John Jenkins. He expressed deep concern at the questioning of Professor Barrett's faith. Following Professor Barrett's hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee, Reverend Jenkins wrote: ``It is chilling to hear from the United States Senator that this might now disqualify someone from service as a federal judge.'' The president of Princeton University has also asked the Senate to avoid a religious test in judicial appointments.…
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